India bowlers need to curb mistakes under pressure

In the last two ODIs, India's bowlers have shown a tendency to concede ground in a short burst. While New Zealand's bowlers have extracted help from the pitches, India have struggled and their only hope of saving the series is to avoid mistakes

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Worked a lot on bowling yorkers - Bhuvneshwar

India have already lost the No 1 ODI ranking following two defeats in Napier and Hamilton. One more defeat in Auckland will see them lose the series as well. The games at Napier and Hamilton must have felt almost like playing at home, seeing the bowlers go for so many. However, the batsmen, despite coming close, have been unable to mop up for the bowlers and that has been the crucial difference compared to playing in India.

New Zealand's one-day pitches may have flattened out over the past decade but they are still nowhere close to the roads that Indian bowlers are used to back home. There is little the team can do if the bowlers are slammed for 320 in Rajkot, apart from hoping that the batsmen do not have a rare off day. But New Zealand have shown that there was something in Napier and Hamilton for bowlers who were prepared to and knew how to squeeze out that help from the pitches. Napier had bounce and pace, Hamilton was a touch two-paced.

India, though, went through periods where they conceded too much ground in a short burst. It was not as if they were poor throughout, but their attack has this tendency to suddenly lose it in unison, especially if a batsman starts going berserk. The new fielding restrictions have only exacerbated that tendency. Corey Anderson has gone after them in both games, and although India, by their standards, have done admirably to come back at the death, the damage he inflicted proved too costly.

MS Dhoni knows his bowlers better than anybody else and has maintained right through that only four deep fielders are too little protection for their profligacy. But it has been over a year now since the new rules came in and the attack has to show signs of adapting, for there is no choice. And those signs have to translate into something concrete, especially outside India where everything cannot be blamed on dead pitches. If they don't, in another year, Dhoni will be left with the same woes in the 2015 World Cup.

Dhoni does feel that his bowlers have achieved some progress, particularly at the death. "To some extent, yes," Dhoni said after the Hamilton match. "To compare it to what was happening maybe six months back. Our death bowling seems to have improved a lot. What you are seeing close to 300 runs, you may see it as slightly expensive, but if we do not bowl as well as we are bowling in the last few overs, it may go in excess of 340. That puts some serious pressure on the batsmen. We have seen improvement."

The captain thinks a lot more can be done, and pointed out a couple of things which may appear quite basic, but are seemingly beyond the reach of Dhoni's bowlers at the moment.

"There is still scope for improvement. If we cannot give easy boundaries, off something like a wide ball or something on the pads that goes through short fine for a boundary," Dhoni said. "Stuff like that really adds on. Especially the first ball of the over or the sixth ball of the over, if you don't concede boundaries in those two, it really helps. That is one area where we are conceding quite a few runs - the first ball or the last ball of the over. Either we are not starting well or we are not finishing that particular over well."

Of the 61 boundaries India went for in Napier and Hamilton, 20 came off the first and last deliveries of overs. That is not an alarmingly high proportion, but you can see the point Dhoni is trying to make.

His attack may probably not have the skills to extract as much out of New Zealand pitches as the home bowlers have. But if they can at least avoid the above mistakes under pressure, India might yet be able to salvage this series.

MSD's point was that if you start or end an over with a 4 then the batsman gains the upper hand. The boundaries that come off the 2/3/4/5 balls, their genesis lies to some extent in the 4 hit the batsman might have hit of the 1st ball of the over. Thus, you now have a situation where the batsman is not only having 1 boundary, he is now getting 2 boundaries. That is 8 runs. That is a lot of runs. Those runs could have been halved or even less. So my dear Einstein, this was MSD's point. He said it in so few words but since you did not get it I had to explain it in so many words. Hope you got it.

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 18:17 GMT

The problem to me seems to be the utter lack of confidence of Dhoni on his bowlers. Whenever he is talking about bowling he is always defensive. He has said in so many ways that his bowlers are not as good as the opposite bowlers. Even if that is the case, he does not have to repeat this in every press conference. What sort of confidence does this give to a bowler if his captain says things like this. Dhoni needs to be more attacking and think in terms of taking wickets. Wickets is the sure way to reduce run rate, and instead of trying to avoid being hit for boundaries he needs to back his bowlers to take wickets. I think that is where India is lacking.

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 18:06 GMT

"Of the 61 boundaries India went for in Napier and Hamilton, 20 came off the first and last deliveries of overs. That is not an alarmingly high proportion, but you can see the point Dhoni is trying to make."

There are 6 balls in an over. If 20 of 61 boundaries came off first and last deliveries, then 41 boundaries came off 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th deliveries. So on an average...
- Off 1st delivery: 10 boundaries
- Off 2nd delivery: 10.25 boundaries
- Off 3rd delivery: 10.25 boundaries
- Off 4th delivery: 10.25 boundaries
- Off 5th delivery: 10.25 boundaries
- Off last delivery: 10 boundaries

So what exactly what point was Dhoni trying to make?

Al
on January 24, 2014, 16:51 GMT

Agree with @Alexk400 - We Indians are compassionate people. 1 billion people 1 billion excuses. Seriously, with amount of population and amount of money available to BCCI , India can field 3 different teams for T20, ODI and Tests, and still be 1st or 2nd in each category. But we are ok to live in mediocrity just so others can be happy beating us. That's why players like Ashwin, Ishant, Rohit, Jadeja, etc. can never be dropped. Because BCCI wants other teams to win too.

They keep picking same useless players and if some one questions they will say this is all we got in Ranji teams. Well if you do not allow poor people with better bone structure to play and give scholarship, nothing will happen. TPTB only pick up relatives of administrators forever unless someone put foot down.

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 16:45 GMT

Except for DL India won this match scoring 277 in 41.3 overs compared to 270 of NZ in 42 overs.

Jagan
on January 24, 2014, 16:38 GMT

@Jordanmacmillan88 ...last time I checked the results ...your world class players sucked on batsmen friendly pitches and lost 5-0.. also lost to Bangladesh.... Stop writing bushik!!!!!

@shanebond...the truth is there are many good bowlers in india who can bowl like pakistani pacemen.But the politics and favouritism in cricket high level management is killing cricket here.Hopefully one day cricket administrators in india will become good like NZ management and select good players..

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 15:33 GMT

Still believe dhawan will come hard on kiwis. Jadeja need a lot of improvement in his batting. Irfan pathan will be better than binny in WC 2015.

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 15:17 GMT

D/L works well in most cases. In this case, rain came during an innings, and as NZ had not lost wickets they were always going to have their final score raised because of this. That is why they went on a run scoring blitz when they came back on, they knew they would get a bonus. If the rain had come before the innings started, or even earlier in the innings, then the D/L target score would have been lower. The same applies but different calculations if the rain comes in the second innings or between innings.

The issue here is that the Indian players would have known that as well and should have expected the NZ batters to go after them, they simply didn't bowl to the situation.

Harmon
on January 24, 2014, 20:48 GMT

@Shailendra Singh:

MSD's point was that if you start or end an over with a 4 then the batsman gains the upper hand. The boundaries that come off the 2/3/4/5 balls, their genesis lies to some extent in the 4 hit the batsman might have hit of the 1st ball of the over. Thus, you now have a situation where the batsman is not only having 1 boundary, he is now getting 2 boundaries. That is 8 runs. That is a lot of runs. Those runs could have been halved or even less. So my dear Einstein, this was MSD's point. He said it in so few words but since you did not get it I had to explain it in so many words. Hope you got it.

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 18:17 GMT

The problem to me seems to be the utter lack of confidence of Dhoni on his bowlers. Whenever he is talking about bowling he is always defensive. He has said in so many ways that his bowlers are not as good as the opposite bowlers. Even if that is the case, he does not have to repeat this in every press conference. What sort of confidence does this give to a bowler if his captain says things like this. Dhoni needs to be more attacking and think in terms of taking wickets. Wickets is the sure way to reduce run rate, and instead of trying to avoid being hit for boundaries he needs to back his bowlers to take wickets. I think that is where India is lacking.

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 18:06 GMT

"Of the 61 boundaries India went for in Napier and Hamilton, 20 came off the first and last deliveries of overs. That is not an alarmingly high proportion, but you can see the point Dhoni is trying to make."

There are 6 balls in an over. If 20 of 61 boundaries came off first and last deliveries, then 41 boundaries came off 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th deliveries. So on an average...
- Off 1st delivery: 10 boundaries
- Off 2nd delivery: 10.25 boundaries
- Off 3rd delivery: 10.25 boundaries
- Off 4th delivery: 10.25 boundaries
- Off 5th delivery: 10.25 boundaries
- Off last delivery: 10 boundaries

So what exactly what point was Dhoni trying to make?

Al
on January 24, 2014, 16:51 GMT

Agree with @Alexk400 - We Indians are compassionate people. 1 billion people 1 billion excuses. Seriously, with amount of population and amount of money available to BCCI , India can field 3 different teams for T20, ODI and Tests, and still be 1st or 2nd in each category. But we are ok to live in mediocrity just so others can be happy beating us. That's why players like Ashwin, Ishant, Rohit, Jadeja, etc. can never be dropped. Because BCCI wants other teams to win too.

They keep picking same useless players and if some one questions they will say this is all we got in Ranji teams. Well if you do not allow poor people with better bone structure to play and give scholarship, nothing will happen. TPTB only pick up relatives of administrators forever unless someone put foot down.

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 16:45 GMT

Except for DL India won this match scoring 277 in 41.3 overs compared to 270 of NZ in 42 overs.

Jagan
on January 24, 2014, 16:38 GMT

@Jordanmacmillan88 ...last time I checked the results ...your world class players sucked on batsmen friendly pitches and lost 5-0.. also lost to Bangladesh.... Stop writing bushik!!!!!

@shanebond...the truth is there are many good bowlers in india who can bowl like pakistani pacemen.But the politics and favouritism in cricket high level management is killing cricket here.Hopefully one day cricket administrators in india will become good like NZ management and select good players..

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 15:33 GMT

Still believe dhawan will come hard on kiwis. Jadeja need a lot of improvement in his batting. Irfan pathan will be better than binny in WC 2015.

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 15:17 GMT

D/L works well in most cases. In this case, rain came during an innings, and as NZ had not lost wickets they were always going to have their final score raised because of this. That is why they went on a run scoring blitz when they came back on, they knew they would get a bonus. If the rain had come before the innings started, or even earlier in the innings, then the D/L target score would have been lower. The same applies but different calculations if the rain comes in the second innings or between innings.

The issue here is that the Indian players would have known that as well and should have expected the NZ batters to go after them, they simply didn't bowl to the situation.

sri
on January 24, 2014, 14:12 GMT

@Shane Bond There is another possibility. If NZ had known they had got only 42 overs may be they would have tried to accelerate from the beginning and in the process would have lost some quick wickets.That is just another probability .
I see a point in @here2rock that NZ bowlers also conceded more runs and singling out India bowling attack is probably not right.

However i agree that Ishant and Ashwin might have leaked more runs had it been a full game and Ind would have lost too then. We definitely needed changes in the bowling team else batsmen have to chase 300 every time

Dummy
on January 24, 2014, 13:01 GMT

aftr hamilton whr r indians leading 2 , humiliation

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 12:01 GMT

Some one deliver our messages to Dhoni please! How many more chances should these non-performing and mentally weak and fragile players- Ishant, Raina, Ashwin, Rohit) should get!?? Send them to the English county and ban them from IPL for a year at least if you really wish to see them improve. For now, Rahane should open with Dhawan.. Pujara should be no4 after Kohli at no.3. Binny and Dhoni at 5/6 or vice versa. Bhuvi and Shami should be handled more carefully and get regular chances (they really try harder than other bowlers IMO). Varun Aaron / Zol / Unadkat / every other talented young players should play more county cricket than in IPLs. IPL time schedule should be changed to allow these players for the same. stopping runs is not an improvement Dhoni.. sharpening ur technique and taking wickets for the team in difficult conditions is the improvement India badly needs right now. Stop being so stubborn Mr.Captain.

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 9:32 GMT

India's "leading " spinner Ashwin and "leading " pacer Ishant has to bowl at least one, if not two, bad balls every over. It seems, otherwise they can't live in peace!
Eat their meals!! And sleep well in the night!!!

@Shane Bond - hmm. Even I don't agree with the 'Moral Victory' thing. India lost the match and thats it (even if all 50 overs were played, India would have still lost). But what everyone felt is the DL target of 297 is may be a touch more. But leave it - lost is lost.

One positive for India is: there is fight till last moment (both matches are close) unlike the ODI matches in SA tour. I am sure India will fight back and win atleast 2 ODI's out of remaining 3.

Alex
on January 24, 2014, 8:40 GMT

Indians are compassionate people. 1 billion people 1 billion excuses. Seriously with amount of population , india can field 20 International team. Its just TPTB do not want that happen. They want to live in mediocrity just so others can be happy beating india. If india can groom 1000kids for being fast bowling all rounders by geneology , definitely 10 will be world class fast bowling all rounders. if chinese can manufacture 100s of young gymnasts why not india copy that method. I think we want other countries to win some games. TPTB has even .01 common sense they would have done it. They keep picking useless players and if some one questioned they will say this is all we got in ranji teams. Well if you do not allow poor people with better bone structure to play and give scholarship , nothing will happen. TPTB only pick up relatives of administrators forever unless someone put foot down.

Android
on January 24, 2014, 8:40 GMT

@5044.... Yeah, so what's your problem then. Some people are saying India have the "Moral Victory" by scoring 277.

j
on January 24, 2014, 7:55 GMT

Lets be blunt about it:
If this is the core of the team thats going to defend the world cup in 2015, then the future is bleak. The weaknesses are alarming
1. Dhawan is dangerously close to being labelled a flat track bully.He has been found out in SA and NZ too.
2. Rohit is as usual inconsistent.
3. About Ishant the less said the better. I think his time is up. So too Zaheer. Ashwin is a truly certified wrecker-at-home only.
4. Raina's weakness against the short ball is the stuff of legend.
5. Dhoni's undying loyalty to his CSK buddies is alarming and exasperating
6.Only Kohli can claim to be a truly world class bat.
7. Shami/Kumar still short on experience.

This my friends are India's warriors for defending the world cup. Good luck!!!
And oh!! the Tests havent started yet. Place a hand on your heart and truly ponder whether these bowlers have the skill,ability,discipline and heart to knock of twenty wickets.

Dharma
on January 24, 2014, 7:38 GMT

@Shane Bond - a target of 297 in 42 is almost equal to 350 in 50 overs. (required run rate = 7 rpo).

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 7:31 GMT

@GRVJPR India made 277 for 9 wickets in 41.3 overs. so according to u with 1 wicket in hand . shami and ishat would have made 100 runs in 51 balls with the run rate of 12. yeah keep deaming.

sweta
on January 24, 2014, 7:18 GMT

Dhoni should change his tactics first..its not india where u can chase 300 runs every time...if u r winning the toss,u should blindly opt to bat bcoz bating is our strength...ashwin is in the team for no reason...he is nt taking wickets ..he should be replaced...

Mohamed
on January 24, 2014, 6:40 GMT

Ishant: Really don't understand why the selectors and dhoni keep picking him. He is not a good bowler for ODI.
Jadeja: His role is all rounder but he plays the all round role once in a blue moon. Especially in overseas conditions, i don't consider him as a all rounder.
Rohit: He is good in flat tracks/sub-continent pitches. The worst thing i have been seeing him not scoring singles at least. Enough chances given to him.
Ashwin: I don't see him bowling spin and taking wickets nowadays. Enough chances given to him.

Dhoni should pick Binny, Aaron & Amit Mishra instead of Jadeja,Ashwin & Ishant.
Also can try sending Rahane to open along with Dhawan and play Rohit down the order.

Android
on January 24, 2014, 6:35 GMT

@Here2rock. Yeah, dl "favoured us" right? We played 33 overs expecting our big hitters accelerating from 35-50. But rain reduced us to 42. You should feel fortunate man, or your bowlers would have leaked 350.

Sundar
on January 24, 2014, 6:24 GMT

20 boundaries out of 61 is one-third. That is exactly what you would expect from two balls in a 6-ball over. So, the first ball and last ball focus is flawed. Yes, the first ball boundary can have a psychological impact on the bowler; but I can't see the special significance of the last ball boundary. Such explanations are meaningless. Bowlers need to bowl good line and length throughout the over; it is not about the first ball or the last ball.

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 6:21 GMT

I wonder if Dhoni gets certain % of match fees from Ishant Sharma for every match he plays. Otherwise there is simply no logic in carrying him for years after years..despite repeated shocking performance.

Dipayan
on January 24, 2014, 6:19 GMT

The 1st or the last ball make up 33% of all balls in an innings. 20 out of 61 boundaries make up 33% of all boundaries in an innings. Hence , it is to be expected that 1/3rd of the boundaries will be hit on the 1st or 6th balls. I don't understand the point being belaboured.

Nero
on January 24, 2014, 6:12 GMT

My precious advice to Dhoni: india should stop playing 5bowlers. Play all the 11 specialist batsman . Dhoni(strike bowler), Kohli and rahane should be india's quick bowler and raina and rohit offspinner role. This attack will able to contain the opposition to 400 which our sp bowler nearly concede every match . But it will give india the batting that they also can make 400 after losing early wicket. So my suggestion is to bring five batsman to replace 5 bowler like sehwag, yuvi, tiwari. Don't matter about form. India will have lot of world records every match, lot of entertainment and will make big fun of Steyn, Mckenaghan, jhonson and the all the critics of india. Go india go Or india will never produce a economy wicket taking bowler.

Nirmal
on January 24, 2014, 6:05 GMT

Rahane who has played as an opener throughout his first class career is now playing as a middle order batsman. Rohit Sharma a middle order batsman is playing as opener. India, which was known for producing best spinners in the world don't have a good spinners. Dhavan looks serious about sacrificing his place in the team. Raina is inconsistent with bat. SRJ is not effective as bowler or batsman. Ishant Sharma is consistently inconsistent. Mishra is certainly not the substitute of Ashwin. MSD has lot of things to look at, let's see what he can do now.

Kuldeep
on January 24, 2014, 5:36 GMT

So much drama about Indian bowling, what about NZ bowling? Their bowlers leaked more runs than the Indian bowlers. NZ won the game because of DL rules made the task a lot more harder, India did well to get as close as they did. However there is merit for dropping Ishant and Aswwin from the team, they have not preformed for a long time in ODIs. Why the likes of Ishwar Pandey and Stuart Binny have not been given a chance? There are plenty of other players on the bench which should get a game otherwise there is very little point in brining them out.

Android
on January 24, 2014, 5:31 GMT

this indian team have all academy trained players who play in copy book manner in india but conditions becoms out of syllabus in overseas ...so indian team needs some wild talantwho can play equally in all conditions....yusuf hit century in sa in odi despite no technique and class...

udendra
on January 24, 2014, 5:22 GMT

I can't understand why Indian batsmen can't clear these small grounds (as at Home) in NZ.

Hoping that Dhoni adds Aaron and Pandey for the next match and drop Ishant and Rohit...the best will be to bring Pujara in. He will form the much needed partnership with Kholi to win a game.

GAURAV
on January 24, 2014, 5:13 GMT

There is nothing wrong with this Indian Batting. They scored more runs in less overs as compared to NZ. ANy team who can score 277 runs in 40 overs is a wonderful batting team. If 50 overs were there India might have got 377 runs. So no problem there. As far as bowling is concerned Ashwin is an absolute waste. He has become no utility player. He is just a very ordinary roler of a cricket ball.

Vatsal
on January 24, 2014, 4:59 GMT

How awesome id Dhoni! like for example he picks up on things like "we are going for boundaries in first or last ball..." and the whole death bowlig being improved from 340 target chase to 300 ish, really tell us that he is really clued on in terms of knowing the game and picking things up during matches (especially while squattign every bowl for keeping etc), what each players limitations are etc, but atm he just seems to be shackled by the young bowlers, but when you have a captain like that he will prep the team nicely for 2015, no doubt. only fear is that during that time aus and maybe some other teams will have grown leaps and bounds as well. in anycase, will make for a great worldcup

Android
on January 24, 2014, 4:43 GMT

irfan pathan and parvez rasool should be slected in team in place of ishant sharma and ashwin

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 4:39 GMT

All batsmen except Kohli and Dhoni flopped or gave below par performance, yet BOWLERS ARE BEING BLAMED.USUAL STEREOTYPE ,!

@ Madhan Raj : probably had it been a 50 over game, India would have ended up chasing something in the region of 350. If we have that much problem with D/L method, why don't we abandon the match as soon as the match is affected by rain. NZ batted for the first 33 overs knowing that they would get 50 overs whereas Indian knew all along that it was a 42 over game. D/L method may not b a 100% method, bt more often than not it's fair enough as was the case at Hamilton.

venkata rama krishna reddy
on January 24, 2014, 3:59 GMT

I think ishant should be removed , get aaron and remove one spinner and get an allrounder as jadeja is not at all a allrounder...

ESPN
on January 24, 2014, 3:58 GMT

man indian supporters annoy me.. nz are just playing better cricket. stop blaming everyone else and the dl system.. its

Venkat
on January 24, 2014, 3:40 GMT

The loss in the matches thus far is due to poor bowling and slow starts at the beginning of the innings. Firstly, Rohit has to learn to rotate strike . He is always in test mode and puts too much pressure on the middle order batsmen . I do not know what is the point in persisting with Ishant , when he does not make any contribution . Secondly, Ashwin will have to change his bowling from round the wicket to Over the wicket and flight the ball lot more than pushing the ball through . Prasanna was a great exponent of off spin bowling and he was never afraid of getting hit . In the next maych, it is better to drop Rohit, Ishant and Ashwin and bring in Rayudu, Aaron and Mishra. It is not fair to rely on Kohli and Dhoni to bail the team out every maych .

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 3:38 GMT

India is lacking "Medium/Fast All Rounders" while SA, AUS, NZ, ENG are having enough of them. This is one particular reason why Dhoni sticking to part-time bowlers to cover death bowling issue & even middle/lower order batsman not able to perform.
- Rohit always lacks confidence/intensity in batting/fielding.
- Ishant always makes same mistakes, don't think/learn how to bowl differently.
- Ashwin/Jadeja are gud in Indian pitches but not on overseas.
But Dhoni is playing spoil sport sticking to Rohit, Ashwin, Jadeja, Ishant & not giving chances to gud performers like Ohja, Rayudu, Mishra, Binny & don't forget Wasim Jaffer who has outstanding record in Ranji has not been considered. Full politics in Cricket too :(

TVR
on January 24, 2014, 3:25 GMT

@WC2011Champs - Rightly said but match situation will bring better out of individuals. Playing for india is a prouder moment.
Ishant wasting oppurtunities time and again. It is better to give Iswar pandey or Varon aaron a look. When Ishant attacked by batsman, he goes clueless and bowls delivery not for the moment.
Field positions and individuals in field posiition to be reviewed. Bowlers should bowl to field, not their variations. Especially for spinners. Indian ODI bowling attack look toothlesss overseas. Seriously requires a revamp.

These players are not adapting well overseas. It is better to have a overseas ODI team and Subcontinenet ODI team for India wining percentage.

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 3:17 GMT

India play only india but overseas they were very ordinary it has proved by msd men.

Better field position are required. On seeing the matches, When ashwin is bowling cover and midwicket fielder should be agile in stopping singles, rather than showing hands to boundary person. This is utilized well by kane williamson is rotating strikes. Pressure should be exerted. India looks in defensive mood respect to fielding positions from 15 to 30overs. Where they should be attacking. which lead to opposition having wickets in hand for final over strikes.

Rohit or Raina is wasting oppurtunities provided to him. It is right time selector take strong decisions for world cup.

I seriously feel Dinesh Karthick or Pujara or Rishi dhawan or Manoj tiwari should be given opportunities. Rather than Rohit or raina or yuvaraj

ESPN
on January 24, 2014, 3:03 GMT

Why the Indian team is consistent on giving Ishant Sharma more chances every now and again ? His first class record is as bad as international cricket record. There is no dearth of bowlers performing much better than him in domestic cricket. Why can't he be dropped out right now and selectors look for bringing up some new fast bowlers before next year world cup ?

Sanjay
on January 24, 2014, 3:03 GMT

@Posted by Kappa69 on (January 23, 2014, 18:18 GMT) Australia got whitewashed in their last tour of India5-0 and in England 4-0. They have not won a thing in the last year outside Australia! India on other hand won the Champions T ropy in England, won a 3way series in the West indies and thumped Zimbabwe 5-0 white wash in Harare!
No team has won more matches away in the last year.Check stats on this website before commenting and making a fool of yourself

Android
on January 24, 2014, 2:55 GMT

I think two players who performed well in New zealand in past are two forgotten names viru n Gautam gambhir both are big match players who have lost heart with politics in whole system. why we have stupid projects like project raina rohit ashwin n belowed delhi boy eenu baffling

Dummy4
on January 24, 2014, 2:49 GMT

This is easy folks. India does not have any good pace bowlers, Ashwin is disastrous and Jadeja cannot bat. Raina, Rohit and Dhawan are playing based on what they have achieved on flat tracks and IPL. Replace Ashwin, I. Sharma, Raina, R. Sharma, Dhawan and India can win again.

Android
on January 24, 2014, 2:35 GMT

only reason india has lost the 2 odis is the openers not clicking...high time atlst dhoni replaces ishant and ashwin

ESPN
on January 24, 2014, 2:35 GMT

Why is Ishant Sharma still playing??!!

ESPN
on January 24, 2014, 2:04 GMT

I don't understand the concept of dhawan rohit jadeja ashwin ishant in the team .. They are damn good in Indian pitches but not in overseas ... Bring back gambir Sehwag binny pander

Dhaval
on January 24, 2014, 1:38 GMT

Indian team can be a much better team with bowlers other than I.Sharma, R.Ashwin..just dont play them. R.Ashwin is only good in India..I.Sharma is not even good in Indian conditions.

Dhaval
on January 24, 2014, 1:36 GMT

Play I.Pandey, Varun Aaron, Rasool in place of I.Sharma, R.Jadeja and R.Sharma..Rasool is good lower batsman as well..He can very well fill in for Jadeja. He can be also be given chances like many others have got so far in the current Indian team..R.Sharma, I.Sharma, S.Raina, Jadeja to name a few.

Abhinav
on January 24, 2014, 0:00 GMT

@ Al-Bundy.. That was funny, but couldnt agree more. Better take some tough decision before hiding your face after losing series. No disrespect to NZ, they are a fantastic team, but come on.. 6-place difference in ranking should have some meaning!

Nish
on January 23, 2014, 23:40 GMT

@ Parth Choksi - I think the only reason Pujara is not in the ODI team is because he has had problems with his knees & has even had a couple of operations on them. Hence I think the selectors are protecting him by saving him for Tests only. However maybe as Pujara is a proven player as shown by his recent performances in SA, perhaps there is a case to be very selective in picking him for only important ODI's played by India like in championship matches in the Asia Cup, WC2015.etc

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 23:27 GMT

So much for 4-1 to India right fellas? Look, India could still win this 3-2 and by rights they probably should, but Dhoni is not being proactive. Too many boundaries coming off the first or last ball of the over? Well, they then go on to say that 20 out of the 61 boundaries have come from either the first or last ball of the over. If that is the case, that is less than 33% of the boundaries coming from the outside (start and end deliveries) 33% of the over, so in other words telling us absolutely nothing. Hope to see Bennett play tomorrow, he is the next fastest after Milne and should trouble Raina, Sharma, Dhawan and co with his pace and bounce.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 23:20 GMT

It's okay whingeing, excuse-making, myopic, lacking-in-power India.... your line-up is fine. You are being outplayed. OUTPLAYED. Look it up in the Oxford dictionary...'cos the rest of the world knows it is a term you have never used before.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 23:17 GMT

NZ will maul india as ustice for BCCI's arrogance

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 23:10 GMT

"Of the 61 boundaries India went for in Napier and Hamilton, 20 came off the first and last deliveries of overs. That is not an alarmingly high proportion, but you can see the point Dhoni is trying to make."

Am I missing something? The first and last balls constitute exactly one third of a six ball over. 20 out of 61 boundaries coming off the first and last balls is what you would expect statistically.

Amrutur
on January 23, 2014, 23:00 GMT

For all fans who are most worried that Pujara is not in the ODI team, I think the selectors don't want him to get hurt; they want him for tests. He will get his practice in NZ, and definitely will be selected for the next World Cup; it would be too foolish to leave him out, and Indian selectors are pretty good. But now is not the time to play him. Current ODI standing will have zero bearing on how India will do in WC 2015.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 22:55 GMT

So a third of the sixes have come off 2/6 of the deliveries (first ball of over and last ball of over). Exactly what is to be expected, so no, I really can't see the point Dhoni is trying to make.

Aakash
on January 23, 2014, 22:45 GMT

Firstly, ishant and ashwin need to go - they dont get wickets and provide almost nothing with the bat. IShant is the worst as he is also very expensive - he has been given too many chances. aaron should replace him.
the indian bowlers need aggression - they get hit for four and seem to limp back to their run up. lokk at the nzers - they sprint in every ball they bowl and when they get a wicket you can see what it means to them unlike the indians. scare the opponent.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 22:42 GMT

Need to make some changes and need it fast. Dhoni is an amazing captain but i feel he is now getting either a bit cocky or being bullied. I don't see why Rohit Sharma needs to be in the team ahead of Pujara now at least, I also would want to see Sharma, Ishant dropped and even Ashwin. The stats are not in their favor for now and they need to be given a break. If we are playing Jadeja as a bowler then we are fine but as an all rounder i believe its time to give Binny a shot. My 11 would be: Pujara, Dhavan, Kohli, Rahane, Raina, Dhoni, Binny, Shami, Bhuvanesh, Pandey and Jadeja

ajith
on January 23, 2014, 22:19 GMT

@Shubham Goyal, try not to support blindly. There are problems with some selections. You mention building a bowling unit...Well, not with Ishant who hardly seems to understand what he needs to do. He is an experienced player, isn't he? Two spinners in overseas? Nope. Works in India, not out. Jadeja as an allrounder is not really working outside India. So MSD needs to decide who plays..Ashwin or Jadeja. Pacers? Bhuvi, Shami + time to try out the others and drop Ishant. I do not expect Binny to do much, but if he has been taken for the trip, try him? Likewise the others. Losing aint a big deal, but at least try and see different players. MS seems to be so rigid in what he wants to do. Lastly, one can comment about teams and strategies, no Rule that one has to be a brilliant player to comment... :)

I don't understand why the Indian medium pacers can't bowl on NZ wickets? Surely if your bowling on roads at home and succeeding getting onto a pitch that at least offers some assistance would be a dream?! The Indian team is over rated, one exceptional batsman and an amazing finisher that they rely on to score all their runs. Then they trundle out a b grade bowling attack that couldn't scare a schoolboy..... No wonder the hitters in the NZ team look fwd to each batting innings.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 21:24 GMT

20 out of 61 boundaries off the first and last ball of the over. That is right at the average (2 out of 6), forget high proportions - alarmingly or not. It is confirmation bias that is making Dhoni notice it.

jiten
on January 23, 2014, 21:22 GMT

Only sehwag can bat to the overseas bowler, if he play only 10 overs, core will be around 100, We need something loke that. let dhawan do opening and let him play freely, on other hand let rehane on second slot, 3 kohli, 4 Ambati Rayudu,,,5 dhoni 6 rohit sharma 7 stuart binny 8 misra 9bhumi 10pande or aaron 11 shami give them rest to ashwin, raina and jadeja. please dhoni at overseas do not do that if you win the toss , bat first. we don't want bat under pressure that we have to do 300 score so and so. just play freely , no tension.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 21:18 GMT

Now if the match in abroad for India, we need to switch off TV or need to change channels after Kohli's wicket same like Sachin. Remaining everybody useless, I think when dhoni will retire till Isanth Sharma, Rohit Sharma and Aswin will play for India (Permanent players

Android
on January 23, 2014, 21:03 GMT

basic is to build a team to play 2015 WC.. so players whom you think want to play the world cup.. they should be in the team and dhoni is doing correctly

Android
on January 23, 2014, 20:38 GMT

I seriously don't understand why is PUJARA not in the odi team?. he has list A average of 54 better than rahane and nohit sharma that don't put a price on their wickets. Pujara is a laiback character with minimum fuss and more action on the feild. Heck with whoever's not selecting i don't know if it is MSD or selectors. This is pure waste of talent who has the potential to surpass the achievements of the great Tendulkar.

Raj
on January 23, 2014, 20:33 GMT

How about blaming the bowling coach for poor performance? What has been his contributions? CricketTsunami or someone commented correctly if new bowlers are not exhibiting confidence in the nets then how can Dhoni include Binny, Pandey, or Aaron? Again, what has the bowling coach been doing?

Android
on January 23, 2014, 20:32 GMT

There is abundance of batting talent in India. The likes of Pujara, Unmukt chand, Manish pandey, karun nair etc. are waiting for a nod from the selectors. I don't know why this idiot Dhoni persists with likes of rohit and raina. In the bowling department, we need guys like umesh yadav, varun aaron, ishwar pandey and rishi dhawan. Also we should insist on wrist spinners outside india where finger spinners are ineffective. Ishant sharma, ashwin, raina, rohit are a burden to the team. And if dhoni doesn't drop them, he too should be dropped. Selectors need to be bold. Learn from Australia. They play to win! Dhoni on the other hand is more concerned about him and his buddies. Such people doesnt deserve national colours. The public is watching and if the selectors dont do what is necessary, there will be a public outcry and then BCCI will have to face the heat.

tanveer
on January 23, 2014, 20:10 GMT

I respect MSD for all his accomplishments for India but at the present moment, MSD seems to have become complacent. As Indian fans we have high expectations from our team and its frustrating to see so much mediocrity, more than half of our Indian team are not world class match winners but seem like very ordinary players. Only Virat, Shami and Dhoni are good, and to some extent Dhawan and Bhuvi , not sure why Ashwin, Jadeja, Rohit, Raina, Ishant get so much favoritism.

Suman
on January 23, 2014, 20:08 GMT

@Kappa69 : is it the same Aus who got thrashed in India a few months back?

Aamir
on January 23, 2014, 19:59 GMT

Get rid of Ishant, i am sick of watching him play game after game in odis. And please someone get the guy a haircut. Even other fast bowlers have become too friendly, their body language is so dull. Instill some excitement by playing someone younger, someone hungry, who is positively arrogant n bowls fast n makes it a point to stare in batsman's eyes just to pass the msg that i m coming for you. Current attack is just too soft n gets bullies by batsmen easily.

DaGame
on January 23, 2014, 19:41 GMT

India should play Amit Mishra..he is tricky bowler for teams like NZ, SA and Zimbabwe! He should come in place of Ashwin and Ishant should be replaced by Ishwar Pandey. If Rohit needs time to settle, then his goal should be to give strike to Dhawan or play at No. 4. I agree with some of the folks, Jadeja is also slow starter like Rohit and needs 3-4 overs to settle down. He can be tried at number 5.
India was winning consistently a year - 2 year back because, India had Sehwag, Gambhir and Yuvraj..all of them with good striker. New batsman are equally good but their strike rate needs to improve. India needs to start batting first and not always chasing. In last match, it was OK due to rain but where Dhoni missed the trick was he should have bowled Bhuvi out his 10 overs while he was bowling good or attack more since DL can be very unfair if you have maintain your wickets.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 19:28 GMT

I am not getting the logic behind the inclusion of Ashwin in playing 11 for every time. He got only 1 wicket in last 5 ODIs, and his performance in overseas conditions is very poor(bowling avg. in tests is 74.78 and ODIs 38.83). It will be better, if varun
aaron, ishwar pandey in and ashwin, ishanth out for next match. According to me, the playing 11 will be dhawan, rohit, kohli, rahane, msd, raina, jadeja, bhuvi, shami, varun aaron and ishwar pandey.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 19:10 GMT

I don't know what Dhoni and the bowlers were thinking bowling to Corey Anderson. In the 1st ODI, they could be excuse that they didn't know him well enough. But even in that match, after the initial bludgeoning, they manage to get him under control -- and they did this by going over the stumps and bowling yorkers wide outside his off stump. He didn't get a single boundary after that and was reduced to taking singles. They should have gone with the same strategy this match...but what do you know... they forgot about it and went around the stumps and into his legs...and he whacked them all over once again. .....Kumar and Shammi are the only intelligent bowlers but even they seem to forget once in a while and that changes games. When something works, just stick to it. Don't make the same mistakes again and again.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 18:55 GMT

I dont know why suddenly everyone blaming bowlers for lost. Even our batsmen almost chased the target. In fact we made better than NZ (thanks to stupid and useless D/L system). Blame D/L system for our lose. Don't blame our bowlers. Small boundary and sporty wicket. NZ made 272 in 42 overs, and Ind made 277 in less than few balls. What if there is no D/L or rain. Cut the crap

Android
on January 23, 2014, 18:54 GMT

India should start with ashwin in the first ten overs

sid
on January 23, 2014, 18:51 GMT

forget about the politics: these are the players who need to go: Raina, Rohit sharma, ashwin, ishant. replacements: Pujara( if dravid adapted to one days, so can pujara), ojha/mishra, varun Aaroon, rasool, unmukt chand. all the players that need to go will always perform welll in india and poor outside, but we need consistent performers. if they play bad outside, u give them 3 months in india, they play well, and then they keep on their places for next 3 months, on overseas tours, based on their past performance in India. and the cycle repeats. this needs to change, as Australia does.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 18:40 GMT

Forget other bowlers - in terms of sheer bowling class, I think Dhoni should pick me before Ishant (....and let me tell the world, 30 years ago, my school principal rightly did not think I was good enough to represent my school).....Even I can release the ball, concede lots of runs & get wickets only if the batsmen want to get out.

My India side for the next match -
Replace Ashwin with Binny.
Replace Ishant with anyone (even Boycott's grand-mother is fine).

Babu
on January 23, 2014, 18:36 GMT

2 Spinners theory will not work. Ashwin and Ishant are not learning from mistakes and are becoming baggage to the team and both needs a break.

I feel Saddened to see the state in which Indian cricket is... Its all about confidence.. Indians are low on confidence... they have recently lost to South Africa both in ODI and Tests and have lost terribly to England and Australia earlier. Ther is too much politics in Indian Cricket.. that is probaly the only reason why players like Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma and Raina are still in this playing eleven. How many more will chances will they get. They are very very low on confidence and should be let go to play domestic cricket and can always come back if they prove their worth there.
there are better players waitng in the fringe to show their talent...Give them a chance... I hate to see India commiting the same mistakes over and over again.
we lost the second oDI because of two reasons Poor Bowling specially just after the rain break and Timid.. scared batting in the first 15 overs.. I hope Dhoni learns from his mistakes someday and comes out fighting in the remaining of the matches

Kapilesh
on January 23, 2014, 18:18 GMT

India does not deserve to be the number one team in ODI rank since they cant perform in over seas. Aussie and South africa deserves to be the Number one since they can play in any part of the world.

Nadeesh
on January 23, 2014, 18:17 GMT

there are many pros and cons about current ranking calculations.that is not consider abt the venue a partculr match plays.the team who plays in their home venue know abt the conditions well.so that it is unfair for the visitors because there is much possibilyty to loss.

It's time for team India to prove on away series. NZ played as a unit against India but India does not have match winning bowlers except shami. Kohli performed everywhere but dhawan and rohit sharma should go for big innings to prove them on away venues

Android
on January 23, 2014, 18:08 GMT

our seamers except kapil dev have never been able to run through sides . Sure we had venkatesh prasad srinath and later zaheer , but even they could never match our neighbours quicks who always have been streets ahead both in pace n quality. zaheer took ages to be somewhat consistent , but never was he a potent weapon like say Mcgrath . Now we have some bits n pieces bowlers who concede 6 an over . so we got nothing of note

Al
on January 23, 2014, 18:07 GMT

If Dhoni is not willing to drop his buddies - Ishant, Ashwin and Rohit, maybe it's time to drop Dhoni. We, the fans, deserve better than this. Eventually the Selectors will be held accountable. If they keep selecting mediocre players like Ishant, Ashwin, and Rohit, we, the fans, should be allowed to remove the selectors. Aam Admi Party - we need you in cricket !!

Full respect to all of you guys writing here and raising your concern about the Indian team's loosing but I don't know whether Mr.Dhoni or team management really cares about our comments as Bedi said couple of days back...nobody in the history of Indian cricket has enjoyed more 'cult' status than him. He talks about dressing room environment after losses doesn't get affected...wah...what a joke!!! We all must be really ignorant to wake up in the middle of the night and watch bunch of jokers playing and loosing!!! Sorry to say it but it has come to a point where captaincy change is needed even if we loose the world cup maintaining the right culture and giving opportunity to everybody who deserves is beyond consideration under his regime. All the players know if they can keep MS happy they can get away by scoring single figures or without much contribution. Can anybody tell me why Ishant Sharma was even selected in the team after that 30runs over debacle...God bless us!!!

Kah
on January 23, 2014, 18:03 GMT

So Dhoni, please explain when you have 5 bowlers, none of who can bat, why do you give bowling to Virat Kohli, our main and only batsman who can bat. If he gets injured theres no hope for India.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 18:00 GMT

Dohni is out of his mind to persist with players like Ishant Sharma, Jadeja Raina and Ashwin and it looks like a Chennai Team.. He has to go with Ishwar Pande Binny and Ambati Raydu.. We need changes when we are not doing well.

Chandrashekhar Toronto Canada

Lokesh
on January 23, 2014, 17:55 GMT

NO MORE ISHANT SHARMA PLS PLS PLS PLS.............. Good Luck IPL team that who picks Ishant....

Ashwin & Ishant are truly dumb & they don't deserve the place in Indian Team.

Android
on January 23, 2014, 17:52 GMT

one thing which few ppl thinks NZ is tough to beat in NZ is wrong perception. NZ was beaten in NZ by Aus, PAK, Eng & SA. so they r not like SL/IND who are tough to be beaten in their own backyard.

Android
on January 23, 2014, 17:48 GMT

my squad for 3rd odi

Rohit
Dhawan
kohli
Binny
Raina
Dhoni
Jadeja
Mishra
Bhuvi
Aaron
pandey

shami needs a break. And dhoni said he can't play with four pacers so mishra should be given a chance.

he is sitting out for a long time. He needs games. .

Sanjay
on January 23, 2014, 17:48 GMT

Abhi, a well thought out article.

Indian fans have been bemoaning the state of our team when an opposition batter goes berserk for as long as we can remember. Heads drop, shoulders slump, the poor body language is immediately on show.

Fielders need to be more supportive of the bowlers too when they're being butchered. We don't need to overdo it like England where they pat each other on the bum after every ball but there's nothing worse for a bowler than that lonely feeling and a wish to be swallowed up by Earth.

Android
on January 23, 2014, 17:47 GMT

read many comments ppl are saying/thinking that playing two spinners out of Asia is non sense but let me tell you PAK/SL plays 3 n 2 spinners resp. outside asia and have produced better results than IND... we r missing the main point its not about spinner/pacers/seamers ita about making the right choices in selection of bowlers who can take 10/20 wickets in ODI/Tests. this where MSD is lacking cos his team is make up looks like defending/chasing @ 6-7 RPO not bowling team out by taking aggressive plans. MSD needa to pick bowlers atleast who can bowl to the plan so even bowlers are not leathal still they can buy wickets by bowling dots. Rightnow Jadeja/Ashwin is looking to contain under 6RPO which is too high they should try to restrict NZ under 4-4.5RPO so shami n bhuvi can take wickets in 2nd spells too. Pls MSD rest/drop Ishant his bowling looks lifeless since Ind vs Aus in Ind series. Ishant must return to domeatic step to gain his confidence back.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 17:43 GMT

I dont know why you have given stats of 20 boundaries in 1st and last ball considering 20 out of 61 = 33 % ; and 1st and last ball makes for 33% as well. So 33% boundaries coming off 33 % of total balls is nothing alarming. It just points out that Indians bowlers are capable of bowling bad bowls anytime in entire over

TR
on January 23, 2014, 17:36 GMT

Whats that theory again???
20 out of 61 boundaries came of 1st+last ball of the over. That is 1/3rd boundaries came of 1/3rd of the overs.
Shall we count how many came of 2-5th balls of the over? That is a whopping 41 boundaries. So Indian bowlers are bowling middle overs bad too !!!! :-)

Amit
on January 23, 2014, 17:23 GMT

Indian cricket administrators and groundsmen are obsessed with preparing flat track wickets and small boundaries to suit flat track bullies. It will be the same story as long as the culture of producing flat lifeless wickets on small boundaries is not changed. One Day game is fun to watch when there is even contests between bowlers and batsmen.

* Nohit-Rohit - Walking wicket #1. The next best thing to happen to Indian Cricket after Sachin Tendulkar. The eternal hope of selectors, Dhoni and a section of media. Always pleasing to them and more so in nets. Will never be dropped and he knows that. A good fielder and occasionally OK bowler.
* Suresh Raina - Waling wicket #2. Always one good short ball away from getting out. Grade A player per BCCI. By the way Pujara is Grade B player!!! A good fielder and occasionally OK bowler.
* Ashwin - There is no 'win' here outside the subcontinent. Poor fielding and good tail end batting on Indian grounds.
* Ishant 'the Spearhead' Sharma - Spearhead? Really? Oh Kiwis are so scared. Average fielder Batting? What is that?
These are few of the favorite few….

Lokesh
on January 23, 2014, 17:18 GMT

MY Points for TEAM INDIA WC,
Spinner: Bhajji should be back into the Indian team, he is economical and can hit big shots comparing to Ashwin who lost wicket taking ability.

Allrounder: Irfan Pathan should be looked instead of Jadeja and Binny, because WC will be played in pitches in Aus and NZ which are suitable for seam bowling. Pathan batting is good compare to Sir Jadeja

Coming to Raina, we should give chance to Shewag in the middle order slot, he will take care of the 2nd power play overs. Shewag playing in the middle order will boost the run rate as he scores at a strike rate of 100+.

Opening Slot: Gautam Gambhir should be selected, he may play one down also or in the middle order.

MORE IMPORTANT: Ishant Sharma should not be selected in the ODI team.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 17:16 GMT

I never blame Dhoni for the loss, as a captain what he did was correct, he has to put faith on his players, keeping the same eleven which faced first ODI was a good attempt. His trust towards the players shows that Rahane and Raina both of them performed well too. Then what was the failure? Answer is simple Tactis and Plans, kiwis already knows that rain will come to play, so they played attacking cricket from beginning, At the end they got a decent target too. But Indias opening pair played as test match, as we look both of the openers and their experience was terrible, failing consistently in both match means has to change the pair bettar to put rahane in place of rohit, and giving chance to raydu in middle will be a useful selection. We don't need two spinners outside subcontinent so selecting aswin and jadeja not necessary, picking one of them is more suit and binny's presence will boost batting and bowling too, and one more please kick Ishant Sharma out.

Chandrasekhar
on January 23, 2014, 17:16 GMT

@pratit agreed, India should replace Ishant, Raina, Ashwin/Jadeja with more capable players like Umesh/Iswar, Pujara, and Binny. It is clear to the entire world except Indian think tank - very tragic

Shine
on January 23, 2014, 17:14 GMT

India needs a new bowling coach - Joe Dawes needs to be fired. Duncan should be the next in line. They have another three games to prove themselves before BCCI does something. For a cricketing nation like India, I could never agree to the concept of having a foreign coach to begin with. This is just getting more and more ridiculous and by the start of 2015 World Cup, we will be left with a bunch of batsmen who are so double minded with seaming, swinging and bouncing balls and a handful of pedestrian pace bowlers who have no clue how to capitalize on those same conditions. On top, the country that has produced the best spinners in the world will have none who can even slightly trouble the batsmen out there. The one day form crash of the team will be reminiscent of what happened to the test side. Big changes should be made after this series!

Dummy
on January 23, 2014, 17:13 GMT

I think bat first will help india now. Score 300 and see how their batsmen will perform. I'm sure there is no use of ashvin and ishant. Ashvin because of lazy fielder and not soo good of a bowling and ishan is just a street bower. Where is munaf? Zaheer? I ask my self a question: India has millions of crickers and yet we can't find one fast bowler?

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 16:59 GMT

Second last paragraph of the article states: "Of the 61 boundaries India went for in Napier and Hamilton, 20 came off the first and last deliveries of overs. That is not an alarmingly high proportion, but you can see the point Dhoni is trying to make. " - That's not high proportion at all 2 of 6 balls is 33% which should be more than 20 anyway.

Amit
on January 23, 2014, 16:58 GMT

@kiran :) I like that idea... Team 2 would have few more apart from kohli...pujara, maybe rahane... I would definitely love to see team 2 more contest and right amount of agression rather than just pointless bang bang we see in India

J
on January 23, 2014, 16:54 GMT

There is clearly no enthusiasm left in Dhon. India don't have a reliable bowling department when Ishant Sharma in the playing 11. Any batsman can hit him for any thing they like whenever they like, He get punished badly and Dhoni mix and shuffle all the available bowlers around him. Then Indian commentators praise him like very unpredictable and all the positive things. In fact this unpredictability is causing a lot to the team, The bowlers do not know when they will be asked to bowl. At the moment Dhoni just use them to recover the damages. Dhoni need to know that ideas also get old in cricket. Indian bowlers must know clearly of their roles in the bowling order other than recovery work. Rohit Sharma is not the right person to open the innings. If all the conditions such as wicket, bounce and weather is right then he can score runs and he knows that he will be picked regardless of performance. Rahane always bat under pressure thinking of his place. Do you really need Jadeja and Raina?

boss mucheemaann India won both ODI series and Test series last time. So get your facts right. I think what is hurting India are 3 bad selections... Ishant , Raina and Ashwin. We lost both the matches by 20 odd runs. Well make those changes and we will win 3-2. I am sure that Dhoni and his chennai boys will get selected for the next 3 matches as well and India will lose 0-5. I am sure there will no team changes for the next 3 matches.

Nish
on January 23, 2014, 16:35 GMT

As soon as many of fans saw the team chosen at the start of the 1st ODI of this series, it was apparent to us MSD hadn't learnt a thing from our drubbing in SA! The opposition knows once they see off our two opening bowlers - the remaining ones are either ineffective or clueless - so all they have to do is simply play risk free cricket in laying a platform before their big hitters come in & bash the ball all round the park. Think MSD knows his second-string bowlers are useless - yet amazingly keeps on picking them [when we got far better ones warming the bench] and then has to do a containment job rather than aiming to take wickets. With these inexplicable tactics, is it any surprise we then have to keep on chasing almost 300 or over each time & the opposition easily scoring 100+ runs in the last 10 overs of their innings! MSD then blames his batsmen, anyone or anything else but not himself!

Babu
on January 23, 2014, 16:20 GMT

Gavaskar commented this - "We need extra batsman who can bowl, Unless you give a chance to the players that travelled like Binny, Ishwar, Amit, how the team prepares for world cup in AUS-NZ?' PLease India wake up and give a break for Ashwin and Ishant, try for Binny and Ishwar. Losing is not important learning form the mistakes and willing to change and try the best will make Cricket or any game or infact in the life, will not only brings favors from the people around and also from almighty. Best wishes to India.

ESPN
on January 23, 2014, 16:16 GMT

Rankings in the top 8 are a joke. Aussie are ranked number 8 in t 20s mark my words they are in the top three right now. People read far to much into the rankings. Do teams beat nz in nz no not really.

Kah
on January 23, 2014, 16:16 GMT

Both matches were close and could have been won if the right batting/bowling combo was selected. Unfortunately, NZ is not playing against India, they're playing against Chennai Super Kings. I think we need a selection committee, that hires and fires like australia

Nadeesh
on January 23, 2014, 16:15 GMT

saw great move frm dhoni coming @ no 5 in recent match.it was given chance to raina to play his own game.that tactic mst carry on and rohit needs to be replace by rahane and binny should cme in.ishant must be replaced by pandey...if eng beat aus again ind will be no1.but another lose to kiwi brings series down as well as rank

cricketfan
on January 23, 2014, 15:59 GMT

"Many are first time visitors to New Zealand"? India tours NZ every 4 years or so.. every 4 years, there will be some/many new faces. If I use the same excuse every year, we have to contend that India can never win a series in NZ.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 15:57 GMT

BCCI should make two teams for india team will play only in subcontinent pitches and team 2 will play in overseas. i fear then team will be crowded and team 2 will have only 1 player none other than "kohl"

Android
on January 23, 2014, 15:56 GMT

India despite loosing in all of their recent outings have faired quite well in their batting department and amazingly their batting looked threatening enough to chase any total since that 1st odi in S.A.it looks promising with the likes of kohli and pujara in the ranks. Against comon notion that their batters would faulter on moving pitches, they have handled moving ball quite well leaving me with no doubt that technique ain't a prob for them. I think its just their bowling that sets the tone negative for their chase. INdia you just need to find a good replacement for ishant and bhuv..Common get talent spotting goggles on. I know you have it its a nation of great SRT nd Kumble nd dravid.
From a Pakistan fan cheers

anagh
on January 23, 2014, 15:55 GMT

In case Dhoni does not know let me repeat it- Stupidity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. These are the same bowlers who are clearly not good enough. Just give opportunities to newer players. Every captain has a few players that they back- Saurav backed Bhajji, Sehwag etc. But Dhoni's insistence to play Ashwin, Raina, Ishant etc is running the team to the ground. Take away Kohli's contribution in the 2 matches and the margins of defeat would be a lot more humiliating.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 15:55 GMT

msd win all match with saural ganguli make team
all ganguli's players are out now
now in team India have all players are msd's players
so dhoni now losing all matches'

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 15:54 GMT

How is Nathan McCullum so effective as a spinner? Its about being on the money every ball and field placements. Even Kohli and Dhoni cannot get after him not because he is trying to bowl 6 different balls. Its because he gives the batsmen no width and pitches it up just enough that they cannot get under him. Dhoni may need to give up the gloves and be at mid off to shepherd his bowlers who seem unable to make adjustments before an onslaught happens.

vishwas
on January 23, 2014, 15:54 GMT

@GRVJPR : exactly right on the point about jadeja.... he is never a slogger to start with, whenevr he had a time to bat for atleast 10 overs he has done very well.... read my comments on jadeja about his batting and bowling... i dont know why these people say jadeja is useless or worse... its what dhoni made jadeja to look like.... instead dhoni should go with jadeja at no.5 follwed by dhoni himself and raina.... he is more than what he is made to look like.... jadeja takes time to start, and as we all seen he is capable of increasin run rate in the end...all he needs is just get ther when still atleast 15 overs to spare and let him settle for 3 or 4 overs, and we can see the results will be exceptional... and in bowling also he doesnt have any partner who can take wickets... ashwin is a waste same goes with ishant, if one of these take at least one wicket, we can see a different jadeja in bowling... all he needs is a support from other end, atleast a bowler who can stop run flow....

darius
on January 23, 2014, 15:52 GMT

Dhoni is playing with team, he's trying to be in gud books of his friends by playing them,no team in the planet will play two spinners outside SC,who are ineffective as well,his personal ego is also not helping,Gambhir shud hv been in team as we can see the top order is shaky,Yuvraj cannot be left out,just because he struggled against johnson which seems confusing,every batsmen goes through bad patch,we need experience of yuvraj we need to induce confidence in him,im sure Yuvraj of 2011 will be there in 2015(WC),we cannot go with a totally new team in WC.Aaron and Yadav shud be there in odis and tests ,its compulsary.Ishant shud be dropped with immediate effect as he is not willing to improve his pace(which is the only concern with his bowling)......

Shaun
on January 23, 2014, 15:48 GMT

Scoring more runs in less overs and yet being declared the losers can only mean one thing. The Duckworth Lewis method is complete and utter rubbish.

It always has been.

sarfaraz
on January 23, 2014, 15:43 GMT

If any mean to write this message plz send to selectors ,,, 1 Dhawan. 2 Rahane. 3 KOHL. 4 rohit or binny. 5 raina. 6 Dhoni. 7 Jadeja. 8Bhuvi. 9 shami. 10 ash 11 pandy,, just try it keeping those player who r not performing it's just a kind of relax for them they can't be dropped any time give them something to work harder 4 it,, replace them and if they will perform than take it back,,,Jai Hind

RK
on January 23, 2014, 15:40 GMT

Why single out Ashwin alone for the poor showing of the team as if the likes of Jadeja and Ishant are match winners? If anyone is a liability to the team, first one is Ishant Sharma. No other team in the world would play him; not even, Ireland or Zimbabwe. Why is Rohit spared? Does he on current form deserve a place? Same holds good for a Raina or Dhawan. So, do not find scapegoats to protect a few from the axe. If I have the decision making rights, I'd drop Rohit and ask Ashwin to open with Shikar. Drop Ishant and bring in any other seamer in his place. None could do any worse than him. While he's still hailed for his move of asking Joginder to bowl the last over in the T20 world cup before many years, Mr. MSD has committed lots and lots of false moves too because of which the team suffered and none pinpoints any of them. He has become so powerful and a dictator now. How else one can justify useless Jaddu being retained by the CSK? What has he done in last year's IPL?

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 15:38 GMT

@Sidu Ghosh on (January 23, 2014, 13:26 GMT): You wrote;

"Ishant Sharma should get the BOOT.
Rohit Sharma is also not producing anything... he should be BENCHED"

How can you say that they are not producing anything.

Both are doing tremendous "social service" work for the opposition. The former contributes with runs; and the latter with 'dot balls' -- at least 6 to 7 overs worth. Rohit effectively chops off that many overs from the 50/42 over quota. That is quite a lot of work. Sitting on the bench, how can he do it?

ESPN
on January 23, 2014, 15:35 GMT

Sharma will get pumped all series long. If he plays in the tests he will go for some really large numbers. I'm a kiwi and he suits our batsman to well .. Wait till mccullum let's loose on him

uncle bob
on January 23, 2014, 15:31 GMT

61 boundaries in 42 overs itself is alarmingly high proportion of boundaries/ over. Its 1 and 1/2 boundaries/ per over. It doesn't matter of which ball they came from. No team can win a match in a good bowling conditions if they concede 61 boundaries (many of them are sixes)in 42 over match. India came close to defending it only because they have outstanding batsmen in their rank.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 15:30 GMT

@Jegadish2507 on (January 23, 2014, 14:08 GMT): You wrote;

"Bhuvi has shown he can control runs. Shami has shown he can take wickets. What is Ishant doing?"

Answer: Ishant is contributing a lot. Helping generously. To the opposition. In amassing even more runs for them, to help them pile up more than what they can collectively do themselves.

If everyone in the family tries to generate family wealth, it needs at least one member who can handle charity -- to the outside world. No? If UN has any international award for charity, India should recommend Ishant's name. Without an iota of doubt.

Babu
on January 23, 2014, 15:24 GMT

Ashwin - 88 overs 1 wicket? Put up lots of weight in his belt, not fit physically, dropped catches, running out batsman, losing patience, no batting in depth, cannot field and run well, in slips he waits only at his chest weight - these are the characteristics? what assets he brings to the team. Is it politics keeping him in team. Yes Dhoni can encourage the facts are he is a baggage to the team.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 15:23 GMT

It is not the batting that let india down first a fall... Bowling department needs a change if that is the fact we cant blame Jadeja bcos as a bowler he is really doing good but Ashwin can be given a rest and we can pick any good fast bowler..all other players are ok. Many are first time visitors to New zealand ...

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 15:22 GMT

We had enough of CSK bashing (quite rightly though). So let me redirect the guns towards Mumbai, to somewhat balance the artillery fire.

The stallions from the Bombay Stud Farm always protect their colts fiercely. Rohit is one of their favourite colts. They will never agree with any suggestion of dropping him. Every commentary from them has a built in commercial in Rohit's favour.

NOW, they are willing to bring in Rahane as an opener. After all Rahane is also a colt from the same stable! No? But still they will not let Rohit go. They are only suggesting Rohit & Rahane exchanging places.

Thanks to the new selectors, they are still able to sneak in a few from the other lesser known stables across the nooks & corners of the country. However, at last the lurking feelings crop up, whether their hands are also tied a little bit, if they go for the untouchables - either from East or West doesn't matter.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 15:20 GMT

"Of the 61 boundaries India went for in Napier and Hamilton, 20 came off the first and last deliveries of overs." A third of the boundaries were scored off a third of the balls (in boundary-conceding overs). Is there some statistical oddity I am missing? I concede though that it is remarkable how consistently pedestrian the bowling is - offering equal odds for a boundary on any given ball of a boundary-conceding over.

Android
on January 23, 2014, 15:15 GMT

Indian bowlers without exception forgot the basics . There are going for too many reasons is a worry,but how easily opposition batsman are hammering them is the real worry and probably doubt arises are they anywhere near international standards .The spinners probably lack variations and the genuine quality. Most importantly the mood of bowlers is T20 and are defensive to the delight of opposition. What happened to coaches and supporting staff.Any body knows that 4/70 is better than 0/60. How the bowlers are going to get wickets is question mark.

Manoj
on January 23, 2014, 15:10 GMT

Dhoni loves trundlers thats why he goes on playing ishant who now is equal to a trundler. The joke of the season is dropping umesh from odi team and not playing him in test or odi abroad. He is our fastest bowler still couldnt find a place in this team of trundlers. If srilanka or bangladesh had this kind of pace bowler they would play him day in day out. Then about ashwin, he looks like a bowler who is interested only in stopping runs(which he doesnt succeeds) He shld have been looking to get wkts. Lastely, we can kiss goodbye to next worldcup has we are carrying too many rubbish players who are good only in subcontinent conditions.

I think Indian team is in a fix and Dhoni cant do a thing about it. It seems that the replacements bowlers/allrounders Dhoni has in NZ are not faring good at all in the nets. There may not be any difference in effectiveness between say Ishant and Ishwar Pandey while assessing them in the nets. Team management therefore is unable to try new comers out if they do not induce confidence in their ability. Only thing Dhoni can do is to drop Nohit Sharma and include Pujara to open.
And show blind faith in any bowler India has, to replace Ishant. Because any replacement cant go any more wrong than to keep ishant playing and losing matches for India. Ashwin should also be rested. Bring in Baba Aparajith/Harmeet singh to replace Ashwin.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 15:03 GMT

Do not give a more chance to play Rohit Sharma, He is not a professional player. Defenetly he cant lead frontline batting line up. This is really bad news for Indian cricket. Gambir need to back on the Rohit spot.. please

Amit
on January 23, 2014, 15:01 GMT

It starts with benching Ishant Sharma. Then, there is no need for two spinners in places like NZ, Australia and such. It is preposterous for Dhoni to state that India cannot complete 50 overs in time limit, if 4 seamers are played. If other teams with faster bowlers can complete their 50 overs, India should be able to complete as well. Dhoni should start being the captain and lay down the law. Bench a bowler for a couple of games if he cannot rush the proceeding in timely manner and others will fall in line in quick time.
Now the question of losing , India loses anyway outside the subcontinent with or without four seamers. At least, four seamers will give a fighting chance. Spinners will seldom come into play in these places. Why would any of these countries present India a slow turning track? India does not provide visiting teams bouncy green tops.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 14:59 GMT

"Of the 61 boundaries India went for in Napier and Hamilton, 20 came off the first and last deliveries of overs. That is not an alarmingly high proportion, but you can see the point Dhoni is trying to make"

This is complete codswallop. It is almost exactly proportionate.

One third (20) of the total boundaries (60) came off one third of an over (2 balls).

Dhoni, you might be better to look at other issues to fix...

mathar
on January 23, 2014, 14:55 GMT

Mostly we have not select players from Ranji,U19,Vijay Hazare.So We are losing games & few best players like KM Jhadhav, Rasool, Saurav tiwary, Pankaj Singh, Rajat Patia,Rishi Dhawan,Dinesh Karthik,Samad Fallah, Jalaj Saxena,Iqbal Abdulla.Amit Mishra, Manoj Tiwary,Uthappa. Now only we are pick players from IPL Perfomance like ashwin, rohit, jadeja, raina,Mohit Sharma, Murali Vijay.

Android
on January 23, 2014, 14:51 GMT

Anybody who still talks about bringing back Gambhir and Sehwag should get their heads examined. Sorry to be rude, but I thought we have a chance to progess once that little heavyweight burden decided to call it a day. A nation of 1.3 billion could produce with atleast 10% in their prime for cricket could produce a 100 world class teams.
Time to save our pride in the only sport we can compete.

Shiv
on January 23, 2014, 14:51 GMT

This is the best opportunity and ideal conditions for world cup preparations but Dhoni is seriously wasting them. Give a chance to youngersters and see how they perform. Try rotating players. But instead of that Dhoni wants to still bank on the wrong horses by giving them chance after chance.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 14:50 GMT

"Of the 61 boundaries India went for in Napier and Hamilton, 20 came off the first and last deliveries of overs. That is not an alarmingly high proportion" It is as close as can be to 1/3. First and last all of the over (2 balls) divided by 6 balls is also 1/3. So, no I cannot see the point Dhoni is trying to make. Reminds me of the story of boss saying, 40% of the sick leaves are on Monday or Friday... that is alarmingly high...

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 14:48 GMT

I did love to point out the changes but as we all know Dhoni would be playing the same 11 so its useless to say anything. Has anyone noticed in all this talk that NZ has built a really good team? They are serious contenders for the world cup especially on their own turf if the top order fires with some regularity. Wish Vettori was playing too!

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 14:37 GMT

The norm for the last 4 ODI series involving India has been: win the toss, bowl first, concede 300+ runs and chase more than 7 RPO. Even a blind person would say batsmen are not a problem, its the bowling!.. please throw Ishant Sharma out once and for all. He has no fire in his belly to perform. Rohit Sharma has to be dropped as well and pujara or rayudu needs to be included. Ashwin and Jadeja need to be given one more game.

nod
on January 23, 2014, 14:37 GMT

The sooner India find a replacement for Ashwin the better. Majority of India's shortcomings overseas is down to him imo, traditionally India always had quality spinners which helped them remain competitive overseas, but with Ashwin now the wickets are dried up. Another guy that needs to be replaced is Rohit Sharma, give the opening spot to Rahane/Pujara. I was always supportive of Rohit but he is on borrowed time now, he already hot too many chances, his attitude is poor to say the lease. How can you have a strike rate under 40 or 30 while you are chasing at a RR of 6+ ? This will only put extra pressure of Kohli & co.

suraj
on January 23, 2014, 14:30 GMT

If you know ur bowlers aint doing anything at all then at least give others a try. Wots wrong in that .? They cant go worst than wot ishanth and ashwin are at the moment. Dhoni plenty gonna hate u only coz of ur stubborness in giving ur preffered bunnies a long go , when nothing they do is right. Please give a go on ur bench warmers , they may or may not be effective but surely not worst than ur current bowling members

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 14:28 GMT

I am really worried about both the India openers, slow Rohit & inconsistent Dhawan. A good long solid opening stand, always add significantly in any team's success in a match. And, vice versa.

Rakesh
on January 23, 2014, 14:26 GMT

Dhoni has outlived as a captain, As a leader you can only have so many ideas and once you outlive your time you run out of ideas. He has become stubborn with the team selection and want to persist the same Team again and Again. Forget about this series, this series is already lost. If they can win couple of games it would be a bonus. Changes are needed In all aspect bowling,batting and leadership. We have alreadey lost 9 Test outside the subcontinent and now this ODIS loses had started to mount.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 14:24 GMT

Everyone seems to have sorted Ashwin out. Nothing new. Nothing is anymore effective, unless he gets significant assistance.On overseas tours (including during the next World Cup in OZ & NZ, no one is going to provide that. Ashwin needs a break from international cricket. He may come back, after acquiring some new skills. Let him go honourably.

While we search for a new & effective off spinner (or reinvented Ashwin), Jadeja & Raina are bowling as 'good' as Ashwin, if not marginally better. In fact we can use an additional batsman like Pujara, who can come at the top as an opener. The batting order can be reshuffled suitably.

Nav
on January 23, 2014, 14:23 GMT

Why Dhoni is making things complicated? It is not about first or last ball, it is about good bowling. The solution is simple: Replace Ishant with Aaron. Pandey also can be tried instead of Bhuvi. Another thing is everyone knows that India's strength is in batting. So replace Ashwin/Jadeja with an allrounder(Binni) or a batsman. India cannot win a single game with current 11 for sure.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 14:23 GMT

Every match had been a "learning experience" for most members of the India team. By the time they finish the schooling, in various foreign schools, they will either reach their retirement age or will be dropped. Then a new batch will start the cycle all over again.

After all, learning is a continuous process. No?

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 14:18 GMT

These days all are trying to be Indian Selectors, proposing various names.
In my opinion openers still not found
3 & 4 - Okay :: Kohli and Rahane
5 & 6 :: Dhoni ( Should bat early) Raina Bat and Ball (should bowl more but practice in non international matches is very essential. Even in batting he has to use the bowling machines which bowls at high speeds and bounce to get some confidenceback
Here Indian Selectors now itself find the talent which is going around the country specially the Juniors who continues to play to their potentials and winning tournaments and their spirit is very high. Monitor them in the next few months including the IPL name them select them and send them as a A team to Australia and New Zealand along with players like Rohit, Rahane, Gambhir (Shewag if he does well in IPL) Murali and other upand coming cricketers in the Ranji Circuit. The World Cup is coming around an have the different combinations and options ready. bowlers must able to bat well.

S
on January 23, 2014, 14:18 GMT

Dhoni needs to accept and make some changes to lineup. Players who are not performing, they will need to be benched and give a chance to others.

Ishant Sharma doesn't deserve any more opportunity. Rohit Sharma play like a test match, there is no aggression on his batting as operner. Ashwin got magic, he can't bowl outside india.

I would prefer to see Rahane open with Dhawan and give Raydu a chance to play down.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 14:18 GMT

Indian bowlers had been like Policemen who can keep peace in peaceful times, but get panicky and resourceless when a riot breaks out. Living in Ahmedabad, I have seen that!

If Corey runs riot, what can these innocents do?

Naveen
on January 23, 2014, 14:15 GMT

Rohit and Raina needs to be thrown out...they are concrete track bullies. Raina is so scared of anything pitched at halfway mark.He needs to see a shrink to get his mental issues fixed. Rohit thinks too much of himself after having a good IPL where every other bowler had good batting score. Guy is being life line after life line after life line for 6 years now.... just because he is from mumbai? or is he the blue eyed boy of MI?
Rahane is much better player. He and Pujara should be playing in ODI's.
Dhawan is fast loosing his credibility. Unless these openers score atleast 2 cneturies in next 2 games they should be dropped for good. In India Club team opener can score fastest century on his day.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 14:15 GMT

i think it is time dhoni should not depend on ashwin a lot. I don't think there should be any bowling change, maybe bring in Jaydev Unadkat, but there should be a change in batting order. Gambhir deserves a spot back in the team, and rahane back in the opening slot. Both the openers (Rohit and Shikhar in Tests and ODIs) form is dropping, with the only success in India. If Yuvraj is still in form, he deserves a spot back in the team taking rahane's middle order spot. India, reqires more overseas training excluding Virat, Dhoni and Shami. Yes, the team bowling is improving but that requres more time. This means with all the games before the 2015 world cup, this is like a practice to be better prepared, to defend the world cup.

GAURAV
on January 23, 2014, 14:10 GMT

Why they are hell bent on using jadeja as a slogger. He is not that type of batsmen. Play him in top order and give him time to play his natural game. Dhoni has completely wasted Jaddu as a batter by asking him to slog sixes game after game. He has compeletly lost confidence in the batting now. He is still doing excellently as a bowler and fielder. Get rid of ROHI. ENough of his class as talent, we nee runs and nit good looking forward defensives, Dhini should be kicked out as well. He behaves like a billionare rather than as a cricketer.

JEGADISH
on January 23, 2014, 14:08 GMT

Bhuvi has shown he can control runs. Shami has shown he can take wickets. What is Ishant doing?

Babu
on January 23, 2014, 14:05 GMT

Where is India's death Batting? Ashwin - single digits mostly 10+ Bhuvi - 7-12 avg Shami - 7 avg Ishant - 4 avg. Can Indians compete in the games against the quality teams with this lower order batting line up? Check the allrounders in the team if not distant. Binny - He is capable of 30+ avg Ishwar - Can bat 15+ avg. India should tighten and not too much spin as Ashwin is not at all effective. Ishant short pitch bowling should be contained.

Dhoni should have all-round and good bowling resources to bowl middle overs and not just spin and spin which makes batsman comfortable. ALl throughout the teams, with IPL and T20s exposure, spin been played well by the new generation of players, and teams needs swing and good length bowlings to contain new limited overs restrictions. Wake-up India before its too late to burn the hands and emotions of Cricket fans and administrators. Accept the change and be strong in the middle of defeats and setbacks.

What are we trying to say here? 20 boundaries out of 61 is one in three and the first and last balls of a 6-ball over together constitute a one in three ratio. So they are considering the same number of boundaries in the middle part of the over as in the first and last balls. Dhoni needs to get his arithmetic right but that is less important than getting the bowling combination right. He needs to have bowlers who have the ability to stop giving free boundaries and Ishant is definitely not one of them. Even Shami is not economical though he makes up by taking wickets. Ishant needs to be shown the door and Ishwar Pandey brought in. Dhoni should also stop his dependence on the two spinner theory - Raina bowled better than both Ashwin and Jadeja so does that not mean at least one of the two main spinners should be out? An all rounder like Binny adds batting depth while being fairly economical. Dhoni, please be open to change else India has no hope of coming back in this series.

Android
on January 23, 2014, 13:37 GMT

get in aaron for ishant, no other changes required, let dhawan n rohit play their last series for this year

vishwas
on January 23, 2014, 13:34 GMT

@changeandwin : raina to open?? lol, he is not eligible to play anywhere in between 1 to 5...

vishwas
on January 23, 2014, 13:32 GMT

as i say that two changtes in the team change change the entire bowling performnace of team india, varun to come in ishant's place and binny to replce ashwin, varun has a good pace and can surprise batsmen early in the innings, he did pretty well in the 4 matches he played in india 4 macthes 6 wickets with strike rate of 28.i know this performance is not the basis for judjement, but matches are being played in indian tracks and i saw him cracking 145kmph in those matches.if he is not tested in this tour when can we see him playing??? and coming to binny he is a partner ship breaker, he has a good strike rate of 35 , for a part timer tht is good i hope and his strike rate is 95+ that gives an option of another finisher at no 8... just think about this, shami is a wicket taker who can take wicket with older ball as well, india should go with carun and bhuvi to open bowling who both can take wicket upfront, and then comes shami who also can takes wickets along with jaddu... just a hope...

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 13:26 GMT

Ishant Sharma should get the BOOT.

Rohit Sharma is also not producing anything. BENCH him, as well.

KRISHNA
on January 23, 2014, 13:24 GMT

The Selection Committee should resign immediately. What has happened to Sandeep Patil? Dhoni is forgetting to change the team in order to perform better. Rohith should be replaced by Rrhane in the opening slot. Aswin should be rested and Amit Misra to be included in the team. Also Ishant should give way to Aaron. The team according to me should be
Ajinkya Rehane, Dhavan, Kohli, Dhoni, Binny, Misra, Jadeja, Bhuvaneswar Kumar, Shami & Aaron. Try this eleven. India will win even abroad!

Babu
on January 23, 2014, 13:23 GMT

So many followers were analyzying game and clearly mentioned the bad performances of Ashwin (88 overs 1 wicket), Ishant (Short pitch bowling with negligible paces) start of the series and all the requests went to dead ears. Please wake up India and prepare better for giving opportunities and not adamant to change.

When selectors included players based on performance like Binny, Ishwar - Please accept the change and losing is not all the way (look at Australia and they keep changing and given youngsters Smith, Maxwell, Faulkner chances made them become no.1 again), work towards a better bowling (coaches help the youngsters) and better opening batting (Shikhar, ROhit - Show some patience in the middle thats ok defense with new ball but stay in the middle and get going).

Ishant Sharma has the best bowling average by an Indian in ODIs. Ashwin though good but considering team combination playing outside India not useful as we already have Jadeja. Two players I.e. Spinner half-batsman not useful here.

Raina should come to bat after Dhoni considering he is low on form and also low on confidence against short ball.

Though Rohit, Dhawan have been strugling, we must give them time. Though Dhawan's place is in danger more considering his getting out consistently on short balls

P.S. Dhoni should use Ishant differently. Like he did in England. Have deep square leg and deep fin leg and let him bowl bouncers. He's got height to use it.
In 10-15 over period, when NZ are already 50-60 for 2 let him bowl bouncers. He may go for some runs but 1-2 wickets are vital. Even NZ bowled bouncers throughout even though they got smashed sometimes.

vishwas
on January 23, 2014, 13:19 GMT

CONT
my point is , he is a slow starter like rohit sharma , he starts nervously, but he capitilses on that in the end, if he is to come at no.5 position that is around 30 to 35th over, he will be having enough overs to score freely in the end, and raina and dhoni are natural hitters from the start of the innings, they can play the role of finisher... more over jadeja's technique is better than raina, it balances the left hand right hand comibation.and we know how effective he is in bowling.he is doing bulk of doing while bowling(between 15 to 35 th over)where batsmen milk ashwin and ishant, jadeja has to control runs and he has to take wickets.he take one or two in between, but if any one of ashwin or ishant were to take another wicket in those overs, jadeja can be lethal to new comer

that way team can have a mentally strong feeling of batting dept till 7th osition(if raina comes there) and we team can feel that they too have an allrounder who can bat at no.5 and bowls all 10 overs..

vishwas
on January 23, 2014, 13:10 GMT

for all those who are saying jadeja is worse battsmen, he is batsmen who plays at no.4 or no.5 positon, he scored loads of runs in that positon
anyway my point is, he is not a natural slogger who goes and hits the ball from the word go, he doesnt have that power, he like to takes time.he has not played many innings, but among the innigns he played lets take a look at big score he made
debut match against lanka (60 not out):he played at no.8 but he came in at 25th over when india were 138 for 5,he remained till end score 60 runs
ind vs aus at guwahti (scored 57),he came at 7th spot at 23 for 5 at 10th over and played till 45ht over with tail enders
vs eng oval came in at 7th position when india were 58 for 5 in 20th over scored 78 and stayed till 49th over
vs eng at kochi india were 175 for 5 in 39th over he scored 67 not out
vs lanka kingston came in at 118 for 4 in 28th over , played wth tailenders and remained not out at 49...
cont...

Android
on January 23, 2014, 13:10 GMT

To all those people giving opinions without thinking - SHUT UP!

Bring Sehwag in the team - Look at his form, he needs to score to comeback not comeback to score.

Get Gambhir back - Dhoni too said GG is 3rd opener even vs AUS 4TH Test Last year he was selected but was sick.

Dhoni's persisting with Ishant bcoz he wants to build a bowling unit. In Ishant, Bhuvi, Shami u have 3 different bowlers who can work effectively. Its just that Ishant's low on confidence. Also India's death bowling has improved a lot.

Every team concedes 300 with these new rules. Look at ENG-AUS series. When India scores 350 - good batting. NZ scored 280 bad bowling. GROW UP man!!! If u r so brilliant, why r u not captain of Indian team or even in d team ?

Have Faith!

a
on January 23, 2014, 13:08 GMT

After closely following our indian cricket for last 20 years now i serously like interfere in the selection of indian team prables for future as wc is nearing.
I think rohit sharma is very shaky as opener in seaming tracks becouse he lacs skill to handle moving ball that is been proved for long time so sure he should fit himself at no4 if he does not do well for next match as opener .
by considing Kohlis form and his positiv aproach and techniq he can be pushed at openg position( as we seen sachin promoton ) along with dhawan (needs more chance) 3. Rahane at No3 has got reqred sill and agresion. so No4 goes to again R srma for somtime (few more Odi) 5. dhoni at no 5. folwed by raina, binny,jadeja,bhuvi, shami and aaron at No 11. this order for imidiate effect after 3rd odi.
Here only kohli,dhoni,shami and rahane may be autometic choice for WC probles but others realy need to roove their in team by playing well innear time. other wise uttapa,pujara,mishra,i pathan,pandey,raydu,p kum iq

Ashwin and Ishant should be sent back to India to start as ball boys. Maybe after a few months they can start with cricket. Presently they do not deserve to be in the team...even their Ranji teams. On the batting front, time to start making changes too. What happened to the selection boards perform or perish concept? Or is it applicable only for the Sehwags and Gambhirs?

Rajeev
on January 23, 2014, 12:59 GMT

The present Indian team has performed poorly in SA and in the first two ODIs in NZ not because most of them are playing international cricket abroad first time but because the bowlers are not bowling well and openers and tail enders are not batting well. Middle order is OK. Virat Kohli's performance in SA was good compared to other players and in NZ he had good scores in both the ODIs. He has been performing at home and abroad consistently. In the first ODI against NZ, our bowling, batting (except Kohli) and fielding was poor and we lost. In the second ODI, our openers gave many dot balls and the RR was far below 2. Though, middle order did the best to chase but tail enders failed. NZ were far superior in all the departments of the game. Indian team had a disastrous tour of England and Australia last time but haven't learned from it.

siva
on January 23, 2014, 12:47 GMT

There is no point in keeping Ashwin in the playing XI

Dhoni needs Amit Mishra and Varon Aaron / Ishwar Pandey for Ash and Ishant....We cannot simply have the same playing XI....Kiwis would have worried about more leggie style what Amit offers...

vishwas
on January 23, 2014, 12:45 GMT

CONT.
just think about this, after 12-13 overs opposition will be 2 down with 50 runs.. and in between 15-35 overs if indian bowlers can get atleast 2 wickets not letting them to settle down, that would be 150 for 4 or 5 at the end of 35 overs, and shami again can pick one or 2 wickets in death overs there by controlling the run rate..
if either ashwin or ishant were to pick atleast one wicket, jaddu is capable and will captilise on new comer and results in another wicket, thats how bowling should work and thats how it works in every country except india
we are not expecting firy spells of 4 for's and 4 for's, jsut 2 wickets from everyone and with a decent economy 45-52 runs per 10 overs.in the first two games,exactly this formula worked for newzeland, they dint allow indian batting line up to settle down.they kept taking wickets on regula basis

my advice, send ashwin and ishant back to ranaji, they should and must play 1 season, and bring new guys, they can be worse than these guys..

CS
on January 23, 2014, 12:41 GMT

Congratulations to our Kiwi friends - your team does punch above its weight and it must be heartening for you guys to watch them.. It is perhaps even more special in the context of the oligarchy that the big boys are trying to impose on cricket.. GO KIWIS .. from an indian fan.

Rajesh
on January 23, 2014, 12:41 GMT

Well. Only Vinay Kumar was supposed to leak runs like this. Right guys?

Al
on January 23, 2014, 12:39 GMT

To improve bowling, India needs to get rid of Ishant and Ashwin. If Dhoni is not willing to get rid of those 2, then maybe it's time to get rid of Dhoni. After all, how long will we continue with this farce ??

vishwas
on January 23, 2014, 12:38 GMT

for me i dont see any problem in batting, and fielding.... its just the overs between 15-35 we are having a problem.. think about this... everytime i see a match either bhuvi or shami picks on or two wickets in their first spell which is under 12 overs... and then we have the duo of ishant and ashwin, batsmen just milk them and build partnership at a very good run rate of above 5rpo, mean while jadeja tries hard to control runs, but the other two wont help him, jadeja picks one or two wickes , but the match will be put of hand at that time, later comes power play in 35 over, where shami comes again and picks one wicket, other than him, every one goes for runs, even jadeja spoils his economy rate bowling in power play.... and death over is absolutte trashing with settled batsmen and power hitters to come....

CONT.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 12:37 GMT

The chances that are provided to Ishant sharma, jadeja and Rohit sharma are too costly. There are many more in India looking for chance. Dhoni should remember one thing, he is playing for country, not for his club. One should back up the players that is for club cricket it is okay, but for playing for India, he should change that policy and should thing beyond that. He should stop picking the players who he thinks have potential, he should think beyond that. If one is not perform then go for the other one who he thinks is better in the squad. Give them a chance at least. Its India going to lose anyway with these people, but he can give other chance to showcase their talent. I think ishant sharma with his long hair never going to bowel at right areas. It you watch him bowling, one can realise that his hair in front of him to obscure the place he was bowling. Dhoni at least ask him to cut the hair. He is not a model, he is cricketer and he should follow the morals.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 12:35 GMT

@Pradip Marwadi Irfan's ER is higher than his SR so he is bound to lose Ind the match

Alex
on January 23, 2014, 12:32 GMT

I find this article stating obvious not exactly pin pointing the issue. Both games Shami saved india in last few overs with great bowling. Short burst of run leak happened because of corey anderson batting not because of bad bowling. Ishant sharma will give runs plenty if there is corey anderson batting or not. The problem with nz is after corey anderson the batsman left is not good enough to face shami. So for me nz has problem with nathan mccullum and luke ronchi non performing. They will not able to perform agaisnt shami again infuture ODI. For me nz need to make changes if not they may lose rest of ODIs is corey anderson gets out

Android
on January 23, 2014, 12:22 GMT

dont worry after thr icc 3 way indis will never have to play nz again or out of their country and comfort zone. well done.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 12:22 GMT

Raina is getting couple of 30's unlike yuvraj who struggle to get a double digit scores. Raina is better playing at no6 rather than 5, Dhoni should continue to play at no5. Next match india should give jaddu a break and drop ishanth sharma.. 1.rahane 2.dhawan 3.kholi 4.rohit 5.dhoni 6.raina 7.binny 8.ashwin 9.Bhuvi 10.shami 11.Mishra

qaiser
on January 23, 2014, 12:21 GMT

sory to say that,India can play its own ground and its own made pitches ,they can play good cricket in ASIA and has only two player who are capiible to take team on winning stand,if any team out both of them in early kohli and dhoni diffinetly india will lose the match,india should need to new blood for winning matches out of country who are afraidless to face fast bowling.can play bravery.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 12:17 GMT

Why not Zak, is he not better than Ishanth, What about his world cup bowling statics in flat pitches in India?? I think Gambhir is far better player than Rohith or Dhawan who really are flat track bullies...Pujara also should be given chances.. Single run a ball matters too much now a days also..:-)

Shiva
on January 23, 2014, 12:05 GMT

1. Dhawan - shud be give few more chances
2. Rohit - is only gud in India. Shud be replaced by Rahane as an opener
3. Raina - playing for India from the last 8 years. still didnt learn anythng. shud be replaced by Pujara/Rayudu
4. Jadeja - shud be tried with Binny
5. Ashwin - effective only in India. shud be replaced by Mishra/Rasool
6. Ishanth - He will never learn any thing. shud be replaced by Umesh/Aaron ASAP

i knw, few guys are not there with then team right now, but these things shud be tried as the part of preparations for the WC'15.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 12:00 GMT

India captain will have to give up his likes and dislikes in favor of the country. Ishant Sharma, Raina, Ashwin and Jadeja all are good in Ndian conditions but all of them have consistently proved that they are very ordinary out side. The best spiner of the country Amit Sharma has been out of favour of the captain! Considering the available resources, Binny is much better alternate choice any day for both Raina and Jadeja. Why 3 more fast bowlers have been provided? Is Ishant Sharma is better than all 3 any time any place? It is a fact or captain's hunch!!!?!!! By the way, he was dropped for his poor performance! But immediately picked after only one performance in Ranji Trophy!!! For that matter Gambhir had performed much more and with his experience of playing outside country, he could have been a far better choice!!! Selectors to be blamed on this issue?!!!?

yogesh
on January 23, 2014, 12:00 GMT

india also lacks a genuine alrounder. ishant sharma should be rested. They should play binny/ishwar pandey. Give ashwin also a break and play mishra.

Salim
on January 23, 2014, 11:47 GMT

Since the past many months, majority of the readers' comments have been against Ishant and then Ashwin, Rohit and Raina. Even in this article, one may press ctrl+F and type Ishant and you will see the reader's bashing India's self-proclaimed spearhead. Despite the non-performance and despite the frustration of the entire country against them, the selectors selected him (and the other 3) for almost every single match, Test, ODI and T20. How can one be given such a long rope and given an opportunity to play for years despite a single worthy performance. When was last that Ishant took 5 wickets in an innings in a Test or 4 in an ODI? Can a single selector justify his selection. Raina and Rohit average in the 30s and still find favour for every single one day fixture. Ashwin hardly takes a wicket overseas, yet other bowlers are ignored and he is preferred. There has to be an RTI filed as to what transpires in the Selection Committee meetings & what are the processes followed for selection.

Alex
on January 23, 2014, 11:44 GMT

For me india can win abroad. Actually if you think through any team which has 11 player playing to their potential can win it. It is just that you are as good as your weaklink. Kohli and dhoni can hide the weakness with their superlative batting but you really can't hide for long. Selection of ishant sharma by selectors baffles me even after so many bad performances. Rohit is not fit for overseas bouncy pitches. His lazy bat speed will expose him every time. Pujara should take rohit place. One of the thing that happen with all international team is team composition and analysis. Indian team never changes team composition , they try to hide their weakness for non cricketing reasons. Its kinda strange. BCCI also do not care whether india wins in abroad or not. That is kinda cheating whole india.

Dal
on January 23, 2014, 11:38 GMT

We need to get rid of Ashwin & Ishant neither warranty a place in the team. IF Jadeja is playing he needs to bat better as hes not good enough to play solely as a spinner.

Raina should've been out of the team years ago, Its funny how they treat Yuvraj one way and Raina completely differently.

Play pace bowlers like Yadav / Aaron they surely cant be as bad as Ishant.

GNANESHWAR
on January 23, 2014, 11:33 GMT

ishant sharma could be replaced by rishi dhawan.he is an fast bowling allrounder.ishant is merely waste.he only leaks runs.he is a good bowler for the opponents and not for india.please remove him from the team....

yogesh
on January 23, 2014, 11:30 GMT

i think it is high time pujara gets a look in in the indian squad. they should also give chance to ishwar pandey and varon aron to prove themselves that they also belong to international level.high time they get chance. Dhoni should bat at nos 4 and ask rahane to open the batting with dhavan

Mangal
on January 23, 2014, 11:27 GMT

It would be almost impossible for India to win world cup aboard, Indian bowling always lacks teeth, especially out of subcontinent, where India does not have luxury to play with 7 batsmen. India does not have any genuine all rounder, Jadega cant play aboard it seems, until and unless they have medium pace/slow blower pacer it would be very tough for India to reasonably good aboard. Forget about defending world title. Binny may have potential but until he is tried and test nothing can be tell. Whether he has stamina to bowl 10 overs that too be in a question. Irfan Pathan forgot bowl, even Indian fast bowler does not have pace forget about slow blower. With only four fielders are allowed outside ring, India can never do go in foreign conditions.

uthaman
on January 23, 2014, 11:26 GMT

Get rid of Ishant . Entire bowling line up will look good. Also playing 2 spinners there is waste of exercise.

T
on January 23, 2014, 11:25 GMT

"Out of the 61 boundaries, 20 came off the first or last balls. That is not an alarmingly high proportion"
Well, that's an even distribution, isn't it? :P Kinda like saying "In every week, there are two weekdays" ;)
In fact, that's marginally lesser than the middle 4 balls which have 41 boundaries scored off them.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 11:14 GMT

India needs to look seriously towards bowling options... we have so many pacers in bench or in domestic circuit... especially in overseas matches why we cant peak so called senior bowler's like Munaf, Irfan or Pravin who are much better than the bowler's playing in this Indian side..
In batting if we can drop Yuvraj, Gautam Or Shehwag (these are big match winner's till recent past) by blaming them for not being in form, then why player's like Rohit or Raina are there in this team...?????
BCCI should look into this seriously to make Indian team a better performer on Foreign soil.....

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 11:13 GMT

Against Indian Bowlers - New Zealand Batsman's Score = 271
Against New Zealand Bowlers - Indian Batsman's Score = 277

So according to Mathematics 277 is bigger than 271. So who are the Worst Bowlers

NW or IND.

Devendra
on January 23, 2014, 11:06 GMT

It is simply not understandable..when lots of technology and video footings are available..why the Indian blowing coach is not able to consult and advise the bowlers on lengths and line they should bowl..or the bowlers are simply not capable to learn??? As international level they should be able to learn and adpat quickly...else they are not really competet to play at that level...

Android
on January 23, 2014, 10:57 GMT

India neededed one quality fast bowler&one good spinner

raj
on January 23, 2014, 10:48 GMT

For now, India need to take Ishant out as he is too wayward and inconsistent. Both in Test and ODI's Ishant has let India down way too often with few exceptions. India need to utilise bowlers such as Yadav and Aaron - These guys can trouble batsman with the extra pace. One weak link in the bowling attack makes a huge difference. Dhoni is a great player but he really annoys with his selection policy. He seems to despise players with a humble background or small towns - Probably does not want others to emulate himself!? Players like Aaron and Yadav have suffered at the hands of Dhoni. PK has the best bowling stats of ALL pace bowlers India has ever produce - In fact, PK's average is comparable to Kapil Dev's!!! But where is PK now - After being ignored and marginalised for so long. PK was made the scapegoat for India's horrid run in Eng & Aus. But PK was new in Tests and he was still India's best bowler!

Shiva
on January 23, 2014, 10:44 GMT

Dhawan - shud be give few more chances
Rohit - is only gud in India. Shud be replaced by Rahane as an opener
Raina - playing for India from the last 8 years. still didnt learn anythng. shud be replaced by Pujara/Rayudu
Jadeja - shud be tried with Binny
Ashwin - effective only in India. shud be replaced by Mishra/Rasool
Ishanth - He will never learn any thing. shud be replaced by Umesh/Aaron ASAP

i knw, few guys are not there with then team right now, but these things shud be tried as the part of preparations for the WC'15.

ESPN
on January 23, 2014, 10:38 GMT

Indian bowlers hav been experiance in bowling on flat decks thy could hav learned how to vary pace bt instead of tht our repeating same story in india nd abroad here they wer giiven more then 300 runs evry match and now thy r been goving same scores on bouncy pitches in SA nd Nz..

Vinu
on January 23, 2014, 10:28 GMT

Take Pujara who can be more reliable than Rohit at the top in conditions outside. Drop rohit, replace with Rayudu or play him in the middle order. Open with Ajinkya Rahane or MuraliVijay/Shikar dawan/Gambhir. Strngthen No. 7 - Irfan pathan,No.8 - Pervez Rasool,No. 9- Jadeja, No. 10 - Rishi Dawan and No.11 - Bhuvanesh/Shami. - players who can bat and bowl. 1-6 must be, Rahane, Murali vijay/Dawan/ Gambhir, Pujara, Kohli, Rohit/Rayudu/Raina, Dhoni. No place for non performers like Ishant or even Ashwin.

Pushpakumara
on January 23, 2014, 10:28 GMT

@akd_moves,But this is not a that young team,most of these playes have played more than 50 ODI s.They haven't shown a significant improvement in these conditions, leave alone winning.Especially someone like ishant having played so much international cricket in all three formats more than 5 years doesn't seem to be improving.

Android
on January 23, 2014, 10:22 GMT

it isnt dhoni's fault....it is the lack of a good bowling coach dat is hurting india too.....the changes that need to be made are...
rahane or pujara to open instead of rohit sharma(sharma isnt a good enough batsmen to face new ball on pacy pitches)
aaron for ishant(ishant is a bowler who has been overbowled so much, he has lost dat sting. he was famous for, a plague indian bowlers suffer mostly)
binny for ashwin(ashwin isnt good enough wid d kookaburra)
umesh yadav for suresh raina( a gamble dat dhoni must take, for yadav may kill d opposition wid his speed, hit d deck bowling....knowing dhoni's knack of unconventional decisions paying off, yadav may prove to be hearty bonus)

Sanjiv
on January 23, 2014, 10:21 GMT

Dhoni is showing signs of ageing - intellectual fatigue when under stress. Lack of mental agility. There is still time to blood a new captain in time for the next world cup. Otherwise, the Cup is sure as lost.

ESPN
on January 23, 2014, 10:20 GMT

Dhoni must be removed from the team in order to stop giving further chances to ishant, Ashwin, rohit sharma, dhawan and jadeja

Vivek
on January 23, 2014, 10:18 GMT

Indian Team Balanced in wrong shape, either they have to play with seven Btasman ( With Part time spinners like Raina, Yuvraj & Rohit) or they have to play with I.Pathan . he is best available allrouder in our country

Yousuf
on January 23, 2014, 10:07 GMT

@ CricketFever11 We have cricketers like SL playing in our street. LOL.

ESPN
on January 23, 2014, 10:06 GMT

India simply can't win abroad, their batsmen are just made of and technically sound for Indian pitches apart from kholi, he's got sown attitude problem but he is a mighty good player!

Hamid
on January 23, 2014, 10:05 GMT

India must take help from Pakistani legends or they can even borrow some young fast bowlers from pakistani...... Pakistani won't mind helping it's neighbour.... Pakistani's have big Hearts....

Mamoon
on January 23, 2014, 10:04 GMT

@sanjeevmuhkerjee2006 - Sir correction Pakistan recently won in SA where India was thrashed - even in the horrid series in UK Pakistan won a test match against England in England and one against Australia in headingly - sorry to disappoint but it is India lacking the winning the

arsalan
on January 23, 2014, 9:59 GMT

@vishnu no man he is ryt I have saw sami bowing 150+ nd gul also reaches 150+ sum tyms but not know

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 9:55 GMT

Drop Rohit sharma and Ishant Sharma.. take Rayudu and Varun Aaron.. thats the only solution for team india to remain in this series..

Anand
on January 23, 2014, 9:54 GMT

Irfan is definitely in the mix of things, but I believe he was injured and is on rehab. He would be a good addition.

Md
on January 23, 2014, 9:52 GMT

Our school level fast bowlers are better than Indian international bowlers. Going overseas MSD is just a spectator. BCCI should arrange games only in India to make more and more Double centuries lol.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 9:51 GMT

Want to see... still how many years Team India keep Ishant Sharma in playing 11

Anand
on January 23, 2014, 9:47 GMT

Where is Praveen Kumar these days? And why are Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat warming the benches elsewhere in India? Umesh can be very effective with his pace, yorkers and bouncers. He needs to keep his line right. There is a need for a good bowling coach maybe. Venky did a good job while he was around.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 9:42 GMT

Rohit Sharma individually is hurting INDIA............

Atish
on January 23, 2014, 9:39 GMT

Zia hassan its only showing your frustration coz of lack of wins for pakistan team. Your team have lost to zim and just manged to win 1-0 in Irland.

Anand
on January 23, 2014, 9:39 GMT

We all know that the team is in a rebuilding phase after the exit of the great Sachin Tendulkar and the dropping of Gambhir and Shewag. We have the nucleus of a very good, strong, fit and energetic side. We need to have patience, and not turn selectors and captains ourselves. Let us leave this to the professionals and enjoy the game of glorious uncertainties. The team scored more runs than their opponents, and still lost - courtesy Ms Duckworth-Lewis! But that is how it goes, remember SA in 2003, when Shaun Pollock got it all wrong, and was stripped of captaincy? One thing I would argue is to pick horses for courses, and not to field the same team for ODIs in India and abroad. Let us accept that all teams are getting clever by the day, and are making efforts to outsmart the opposition. So let's chill and enjoy some great innings and great spells.

VIPIN
on January 23, 2014, 9:38 GMT

at overseas pitches sreesanth could have been performed better than all the present indian bowlers.is there any chance for him to come back to the team before world cup

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 9:32 GMT

where is irfan pathan ? he can be used as an all rounder.
he can bowl 10 overs of his quota and can swing the ball both the way plus he can add some hard hitting at the death overs.
i just cant understand y he is not in team for NZ and T20 World cup.
ishant's last 10 ODI record : 14 wickets in 75 overs at cost of 477 runs @ avg of 6.36 plus he can't bat
irfan's last 10 ODI record : 15 wickets in 82 overs at cost of 455 runs @ avg of 5.54 plus he can add some nice hard hitting and do some sensible batting.

Prasun
on January 23, 2014, 9:31 GMT

At the risk of being pedantic, 20 out of 61 boundaries coming from first and last delivery is not disproportionate. If a boundary is equally likely on each ball, then first and last ball add up to 2 out of 6 balls. This is the same ratio as 20 out of 60.

Pushpakumara
on January 23, 2014, 9:27 GMT

Jadeja is good as a bowler and a fielder.But his batting at lower middle order is pathetic,especially in pacy,bouncy conditions. No.07 is a big responsible place in a ODI batting line up because batsman in that place should finish off the game and also has to rebuild the innings when top and middle order has been crumbled.He should be able to hit big shots without consuming too many balls.Jadeja is not a reliable batsman to keep his wicket and hit big shots.Look at Faulkner, nathan macculum,thisara perera,robin pieterson...they have enough energy to win matches with the bat.India playing with 6 batsmen, only dhoni and kholi are in form.Remove ashwin for these conditions and improve binny as an allrounder and jadeja at No.08.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 9:22 GMT

Please stop picking Ishant Sharma for remaining matches. Should have been Vinay Kumar in the team, India loss is gain for Karnataka. I do not know why people hate Vinay Kumar for one bad international match, please do not under estimate him he may bowl at 125 kms speed but he is accurate and wicket taking bowler, what was the speed of Mcgrath, Kapil Dev or Ian Botham but still they were leading wicket taking bowlers.
For some people and ex cricketers if you are 6+ feet tall and bowls at 140 kms speed and if they dose not take wickets also they will be the best fast bowlers to be picked in the squad.
I think that is why Varun Aron is picked for the NZ tour.
India is missing a wicket taking bowler after Anil Kumble's retirement

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 9:21 GMT

there needs to be someone wicket taking other than Shami.
Ishant is clearly not doing anything. leaking runs and not picking up wickets.

just make this one change : Aaron in for Ishant Sharma

Manesh
on January 23, 2014, 9:20 GMT

@Zia Hassan. lol @ your cricketing knowledge. It is not Indian @ ICC now. And ICC recently introduced less number of fielders out side ring in power play overs which is considered as a problem by Indian captain!. I am not surprised as you are a Pak fan! ha ha

Cameron
on January 23, 2014, 9:19 GMT

Farrukh Ishfaq: Sami 156kmh? Gul 150kmh? Don't think so. Those bowlers when ever I've watched them on Australian tours go no where close to those marks. Sami lucky to hit 140 & Gul 135. Keep dreaming

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 9:19 GMT

The Author can see Dhoni's point about first and last ball boundaries ?? really ?

20 off 61 boundaries in 2 out of 6 balls doesn't seem a surprising statistic. Probably a clear indicator that it is truly random

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 9:18 GMT

balaji28: Puhlleaase! A guy who cannot take a single wicket in nearly 100 overs! For that you don't need assistance from the pitch. it just means that this guy cannot bowl unless there is some assistance from the wicket. He does not have any variations - the only variation he has is when he pauses before delivering! Do not give excuses about him not being selected for the Durban test. India will play only 1 spinner in Aus, NZ, England or RSA. Ashwin miserably failed in Jo'burg and was promptly replaced by Jadeja who went on to take 6 wickets. Jadeja's bowling is better than Ashwin when it comes to ODIs too when we are playing away. Ashwin is very lucky he has Dhoni as his captain. he should go back and learn his craft by playing ranji matches. I dont think he is going to be successful even there with the skill set he possess!

Jairaj
on January 23, 2014, 9:17 GMT

Best team for world cup would be Ghambir, Pujara, Dhawan/Rahane, Kohli, Manoj Tiwari/Ambari rayadu, Dohni, Irfan Pathan/Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra/Rahul Sharma, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar/ Ishwar Pandey, Varun Aaron/ Zaheer Khan/ Munaf Patel, Mohammad Shami (even shreeshant would be better bowler in Tests). Raina, Rohit, Ashwin and Jadeja can be played in subcontinent conditions but I don't Understand on What credit is ishant sharma in the team?

Rakesh
on January 23, 2014, 9:16 GMT

This is simply not good enough. How can we Indian lose to NZ? A depleted WI side drew with NZ in the ODI series. Why are we not striving for excellence.Why isn;t there any desire to be the number 1 in test and odi's and T20's. I want Indian to be feared like the great australians and west indians side. Its time to stop talking about plans and processes and actually execute them everywhere in the world. If players don't perform kick them out. There are millions of indians living in poverty, there only happiness is derived from India playing well and they serve up this rubbish. Simply not good enough Team India. Be consistently good not sporadically good. When there is controversy in Indian Cricket we play well to avert attention away i.e. Champions Trophy. Play well 100% of the time not 20% of the time. Us fans deserve far better performances than this. Think of those poor people who have nothing, we want to see fight, improvement and intelligence.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 9:16 GMT

actually India lose for choosing bowling first. This is wrong decision of dhoni.if India batting first and put 280-300 run then NZ could not cross the target.Because this is not Indian pitch.So it is difficult for chasing high score.

Only the team selection to blame. Whats the contribution of few players like Ishant, Aswin, Rohit and Dhavan. Team completely relying on Kohli, Dhoni , Shami and Bhuvaneswar.

Sanjeev
on January 23, 2014, 9:11 GMT

I dont know why pakistanis and Lankans are jumping up and down recently SL were white washed in Australia and Pakistan were white washed in Australia, and SA so better comment on your teams. India Pak SL cannot win abroad

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 9:05 GMT

India has weak bowling one has to admit and on top of that team management keeps on persisting with ishant, why not bring in zaheer as third option and being left arm he adds variety to the dull attack.
Ashwin needs to be removed , he is playing as a bowler but he neither bowls nor bats and fields pathetically , replace him with harbhajan or ojha.
Get in irfan pathan in place of ravindra jadeja who is bowling better than batting , give pathan atleast 5-8 one dayers to settle down , he is important part of your build up to world cup 2015
Give suresh raina a break and try sanju Sampson or pujara.
Bring rohit sharma to no 4 and allow rahane to open and keep dinesh karthik as another option .
If india needs to perform well in forthcoming England and Australia series they need to re think and give chances to young players who have hunger like Vijay zol, unmakt chand, they are future of indian cricket

Android
on January 23, 2014, 9:02 GMT

indian cricket council (ICC) over the years has tried very hard to adjust odi rules that will help india what they need to do now is any extras that indian bowlers give away should not be taken in to account any boundry the bowlers are hit for should cont for one run and in return any boundries that indians hit should be counted as double if the batsman is run out on a no ball or stumped on a wide ball wont count plus in powrr plays any runs that india score should be doubled lets all make india happy and ruin the beautiful game by the way india should be allowed to have every one on the boundry in the death overs and drs can be used by india against the opposition any time but no other team will have the right to use it against india

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 8:54 GMT

Every player is comfortable at home and uncomfortable outside. They have grown in their home conditions. This applies to every team. Only few can prove wonders everywhere in the world. Not the complete team can do wonders outside their home turf. Assuming this, in neutral venues India has always done better. T20 world cup 2007,Champions trophy 2013. If SouthAftrican batsmen had to face Steyn & Morkel and Australans had to face Mitchell Johnson & co even they will fail.. The easiest thing in world is to read an article and publish rubbish comments. Stop blaming and just enjoy the game

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 8:53 GMT

please drop ishant sharma.. he is useless

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 8:49 GMT

Y not indian import some bowlers from pak.?
Beleive me the way cricket has become now, without help from good bowling attack it is difficult to survive.

Android
on January 23, 2014, 8:47 GMT

Indian bowers won't take serious bowling to out the batsmen. I think they are not trying to win.

Karl
on January 23, 2014, 8:42 GMT

Dhoni seems to be making excuses why India's bowling is so bad he does not seem to want to change. He has the match winners in Aaron paired with Shami they could be a handful.
Bring Binny and Yuvraj in to strenghthen the middle order and add some depth to the bowling, since Harbajan, India has struggled to find a decent spinner.
I think Dhoni must step down as captain BCCI should give it to Kohli he is young and hungry maybe just the ingredient Indian cricket needs t the moment.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 8:40 GMT

indian players iz not much powerfull to play another country ........they are only best in his home nD play very well ...this is a big factor in his defeat ...

Zahid
on January 23, 2014, 8:38 GMT

I don't think it's bowlers fault. If we recall past series against Aus and SA, bowlers are conceeding more then 300 runs and 350 plus against Aus in India. India still won and achieved 350 plus. Now batting is not performing like they were doing in India, achieving 350 plus was like peanut in Indian pitches, but outside India pitches and conditions they seems helpless...

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 8:37 GMT

India is in deep trouble. it's really easy to bat on flat pitches like india but there bowling is miserable. i mean if pitch is not spinning or the pitch is not totally flat, india already loss that match by 70%. that's what happen in South africa and now in New zealand.
@Fuunykid : i don't think so that Umesh Yadev will be star in Pakistan. We have better bowlers then him in domestic. 150+ is just not enough to be a good bowler. we have Muhammad sami who has touched 156 Km/h but still out because of his control. Wahab raiz, umar gul, Faisal khan Afridi, Usman, they all can touch 150.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 8:34 GMT

@all those bashing jadeja: Did you actually watch the match at all? Jadeja bowled beautifully,beating almost all the batsman with spin and drift.He was unlucky that a 50/50 stumping decision went against him.Most of the boundaries he conceded were late-cuts through third man of very good balls. Now coming to his batting, he came in when the required run rate was over 12 rpo. He even hit a six of the very first ball he faced. He got out trying to go for the big shot because he didn't have any other choice.So stop bashing our players and give credit to NZ for beating us.

TARIQUE
on January 23, 2014, 8:32 GMT

@Ravi Kumar..... u r absolutely right bro that rohit ashwin ishant and jadeja doesnt deserve a place in team with such a poor form. But according to u, raina still hv merit to be in team! let me remind u that in last 30 matches, raina has made just one fifty and highest score is 65. and his shortcomings against shortpitched balls is obvious to d whole world. he struggles on indian pitches, forget about overseas. he is most overrated player after rohit. can play only for csk not for india.

further, we all know that raina ashwin and jadeja r in d team bcoz they play for csk. dhoni is carrying on wid ishant bcoz dhoni's sports management company is managing for ishant and raina.

i really wonder how rohit managed to stay in d team without any connection. anybody having idea abt this?

Binny as all rounder. No spin . Attack with 2 nipping bouncers per over as a target. it means 100 ball will be bouncers. 1 ball per over perfect yorker as a target.
India can save 30-40 runs by this strategy. and thts the margin by whic we are loosing.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 8:32 GMT

Dhoni.. I am your fan but how long are you going to carry the 2 Sharma's. Its time to open with Rahane and have Yuvraj as no. 4 batsman. Drop Ishan and try Aaron/Yadav. It may be not too late to try with Binny/Rasool. If you persist with Sharmas we are going to be no where.

Sai Sankar
on January 23, 2014, 8:27 GMT

@SLslinga: I am pretty clear to the fact that India is way better team than associate teams. I've been following cricket very intensely over the last decade and I dare say that these NZ bowlers are bowling good.Methinks, India is playing good cricket after the loss of sachin,dravid,ganguly,laxman and kumble. Its a team in the build up phase and most of them haven't seen new zealand before this series.I presume you're from SL and remind you to first analyze you're loss to pakistan in the first place. India under the leadership of dhoni deserved to be the no. 1 side upto now. Also India like the other sub continent teams haven't had much success while touring New Zealand.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 8:26 GMT

Consistent high scoring has been happening only in Indian matches on all tracks worldwide. The same tracks however look lively in non-Indian matches producing only low totals… The fact of the matter is, exactly same happens on Indians tracks too & It might surprise many that even avg ODI inns totals on Indian (so called flat) tracks (excluding Indian matches) is only 240, which is no different than world-wide tracks. Pak, on last tour of India, conceded 200 below totals in all 3 ODIs. This clearly proves that Indian tracks r not flat at all.

Same is true with ODI rules: as Avg team totals (in non Indian matches) have hardly changed since ODI rules change. Only Indian bowling is getting more thrashing.

This clearly proves that Indian analysts wrongly blame ODI rules change & Indian tracks to be batting friendly. It is only due to the combination of exceptional Indian batting & very poor Indian bowling that Indian matches are high scoring & scores getting even higher since rules change

Cricinfouser
on January 23, 2014, 8:26 GMT

India has never produced any decent bowler. even the great kapil lingered on for few years before he broke richard's record. his bowling average was close to 30 as well. Another average player. Even Indian batsman's are poor compared to our Kiwi lads. We play on seaming wickets and in tough conditions at home compared to India who prepare easy wickets to help their players. Go Kiwis. Whitewash India. churr

Premkumar
on January 23, 2014, 8:25 GMT

I think it may be a good option to bat first in batting friendly pitches. Both the matches we could have batted first which may not have given so much pressure on the batsmen. I don't understand the idea of chasing in every match. In Indian conditions we are able to chase but that is not the same in foreign countries. MSD may just try to change his bowling line up and try some of the youngsters and definitely there must a chance given to Stuart Binny in the middle order. Hope luck chances and India retains the No. 1 ranking in the coming matches. All the very best guys I am with you. Mistakes do happen and that must always be taken as a learning experience.

james
on January 23, 2014, 8:23 GMT

Just to point out that the fact that 20 out of 61 boundaries have come off the first or last ball is exactly what you would expect, and if anything those balls have been less likely to go for 4 or 6. If you're going to use stats to back up a point, at least make sure they do...

Cricinfouser
on January 23, 2014, 8:23 GMT

Weren't India expected to whitewash the Kiwi side eh? what happened? NO wonder, Indian team is called flat track players. In New Zealand, we take part in every sport despite our small population. We not only compete but win also; won more medals than india at the last Olympics. NZ should not be taken lightly in cricket as we can humiliate any side. go kiwis

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 8:22 GMT

Oh the agony of 1.2 billion! Remember Indian, Sri Lankan and Pakistani fans what goes around comes around! so think twice before you mock other teams for their losses! Because if you can't cope with yours, it will come back to bite you hard! Specially Indian fans don't talk about other fellow teams your team yet to win single match outside your home turfs so far in recent times! Your team sure does have the talent but I think your management doesn't know how to put them to good use. Have to say this, I think Virat will someday shine over Sir Don and Sachin!

john
on January 23, 2014, 8:19 GMT

Ashwin and ishant sharma should be drop this two are useless bowler play with aaron and pandey in place of this two and see the result. Look at r ashwin record he always take wicket on ind pitches he take most of wickets against wi, srilanka, nz. Pervez rasool is best option of ashwin

Yousuf
on January 23, 2014, 8:19 GMT

@ CricketFever11 Which world class bowler do you have?? At least we don't encourage dirty tactics. We are not shameless like you. LOL. We have IPL where your players come to carry drinks coz they don't get paid back home.

Cricinfouser
on January 23, 2014, 8:18 GMT

4.5 million vs 1.2 billion, and we still manage to come through allright. good stuff. As a Kiwi, always enjoyed watching our side and the Aussies. Indian brand of cricket is boring and most of their players are club cricketers. how can they claim to be a strong side when they can only play on on the road pitches. what a joke. inflate your average by playing on batsman friendly pitches doesn't make you great.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 8:12 GMT

Ironically Kohli, like Tendulkar, is another selfish run accumulator who cannot win matches?????????…………………… hahhahahha…………………..The fact of the matter is, WITH TERRIBLE INDIAN BOWLING NO BRADMAN CAN WIN MATCHES.

India is demanding 7 8 rpo SR every innings & Indians advocating for Pujara's selection who is accumulator. India is losing on SR front not on wickets. India requires another crazy hitter in place of even Rehane. The way Indian bowlers r leaking runs, soon India will be requiring 500 totals in ODI & 11 out of 11 crazy hitters

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 8:11 GMT

India's success stories outside India are very much limited. Even when India looks to be at the top of the ICC ranking, they were defeated regularly on the foreign soil.
India's top ranking is due to their success on their own ground. They play many matches on their own ground.

Yousuf
on January 23, 2014, 8:11 GMT

@ CricketFever11 There is this player who plays as a specialist spectator. Here is your so called LEGEND Mahela's test averages in SA-27.87, NZ-27.71, aus-31.42, England-34.11, Bangladesh-38.12, UAE-13.37.

True colombo track bully.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 8:09 GMT

India bowlers need to curb mistakes under pressure. Its more important. Dhoni giving more chances to Ishant & Ashwin but no efficiency result from both. Dhoni Sir, please consider this as the probable 11 for the 3rd ODI. India must win in all the 3 ODI's to retain its No.1 Ranking.

1.Rohit,2.Rahane,3.Kohli,4.Rayudu,5.Raina,6.Dhoni,7.Binny,8.Mishra,9.B.Kumar, 10.Shami,11.Varun Aaron.
If this will be the team so, it will a balanced one then there will be a tough fight.

amir
on January 23, 2014, 8:08 GMT

Yes indian is the no 1 cricket team but when they are playing in their own backyard (on the pitches...!!!..all knows wht i m talking abt.) players like dhoni/kohli can change the game in a glance, thats for sure, but think if they keep playing out side of india then where u want to put this tean in the ranking of ICC.(indian cricket council ??) good luck team no 1.let see more further as the tour in progress.this bowling attack ?...i don't think so. peace.

Gangadhar
on January 23, 2014, 8:07 GMT

@ PCMondal : thats perfect. I Feel that first 2 person's to be eliminated for the rest of the tournament is Ishant and Ashwin. And give chance to other genuine fast bowler's and get back Harbhajan or Ohja

Kumar
on January 23, 2014, 8:05 GMT

Call Sehwag, Yuvraj, Gambhir and Zaheer.... Rohit and Dhawan are getting worse they can only play in the subcontinent

Naveed
on January 23, 2014, 8:05 GMT

India have always struggled to produce good quality fast bowlers. Something is terribly wrong with fast bowlers in India, they start with lot of promise but fade away very quickly. For the first time in history, India have more fast bowling options than Pakistan. India have so many good fast bowlers unlike the past when they had nothing except one or two but still they are struggling. Is it something to do with coaching? Look at Pakistan, when a talent is found, it is groomed and polished but apparently the bowling talent is wasted in India. Where is Umesh Yadev? He is a genuine fast bowler, the only one in the sub-continent who can bowl 150+plus. I am afraid he will also be wasted. If he were in Pakistan, he would have been super star by now.

James
on January 23, 2014, 8:04 GMT

India rightfully deserve #1 ranking, not Aus..... Its a shame. ranking system is a joke. Keep watching, Ishant Sharma will bring victory for India in the next 3 games in NZ......

Pr
on January 23, 2014, 8:04 GMT

I see why ind fans r so jealus of sri.because they cannot compete like sri away from home.sri bowled out aus 74 in their own backyard which india can only dream of.going into fainals in 4 consecetive icc event which ind can only see in their dreams.and also beat eng in eng 5-0 at odis which ind will not see in nightmire.

Sharath
on January 23, 2014, 8:00 GMT

Totally disappointed with the two ODI's India have played so far.. not the kind you would expect the no.1 ranked team to play.. the conditions were not very hostile neither was the bowling anywhere close to what we faced in SA.. still lost and that too after conceding around 6 RPO in both the matches.. even more upset to see MSD again blaming the batsmen, not the bowlers.. if this is the core group with which India plans to defend world cup in similar conditions, then cant see us going too far in WC 2015... the problems are multiple.. not even 2 good strike bowlers with good consistency and no Top 4 Batsmen like Viru, Sachin, Saurav , Yuvraj who had done the job previously.. we are too much dependent on Kohli and then Dhoni to take us home... This is quite a disturbing trend.. Hope team India will pull up the socks and play better in the remaining matches on tour..

Rakesh
on January 23, 2014, 7:58 GMT

This is not good enough from India. An ordinary WI team drew with NZ in the ODI series. This Indian side is playing pathetically. Where's the pride, where is the hunger to be like the great west indian side in the 80's, or australian side in the 2000's, aspire to be the very very best and sustain it. I am ashamed of the way they are playing here. Its amazing the way they played in the champions trophy after the IPL controversy and contrast this with they are playing here. So many poor people in India look to this team for inspiration, its the only think they have and look forward to and they play like this. Not good enough. I get to see the team in NZ every three or four years and they play like this everytime aside from the last tour, is this the best they can do. They are going to get hammered in England and in Australia. Perform everywhere boys! you are not here for a holoday camp. An angry fan

Naresh
on January 23, 2014, 7:58 GMT

This is a GOOD LOSS for India. I hope things change like team composition - these failures are a REALITY CHECK and maybe the selectors will see to it that we dont go into the next WC unprepared. The bowlers are simply not GOOD enough. India will not be favorites to win the next WC. Pujara is our best batsman outside Indian conditions - he has played U19 WC ODI.

Sony
on January 23, 2014, 7:56 GMT

If your captain is dump enough to understand that ishant sharma is not going to improve irrespective of any number of chances given to him, you bound to loose. why he is talking about complex strategies when he can't simply put the best eleven on ground for so long?

paul
on January 23, 2014, 7:51 GMT

Big difference between the two teams so far have been the partnerships between Williamson and Taylor....this has allowed NZ to attack with wickets in hand...felt India were very lucky to get Taylor when they did ...he looked he was about to cut loose.....the future for NZ looks good...my only change would be to swap McCullum and Ryder around...

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 7:50 GMT

Dhoni is giving too many chances to Rohit,Ishant,Ashwin,Jadeja. These guys has been under performing since many months on foreign pitches. Sir Dhoni, plz make changes to your team & aim for winning abroad. Please give chance to others like Rayudu, Aaron, Binny, Mishra instead of above 4 useless.

Under death none of the Indian Bowlers performance is good. Shami alone is good sometimes. Creating pressure to the Batsman under death is more important because by that runs can be controlled. At the same time picking wickets will create much pressure among the batsman. Hence the score will be controlled and the team batting 2nd can bat without much pressure as the total will be less.

balaji
on January 23, 2014, 7:50 GMT

@raj sundararaman can you name a single spinner in the current new powerplay era who have took many wickets with good economy in odi in a hostile conditions for spinners.If you can't find one then please don't criticize ashwin and jaddu.Dhoni have already praised our spinners efforts in these kind of hostile conditions.bhajji, pragyan,amit mishra,rahul sharma ,piyush chawla,pervez rasool,bharghav bhatt or any spinners were selected in place of ashwin and jaddu runs would have flouted enormously in these kind of conditions.Johannesburg wicket was completely pace friendly where ashwin won't be able to do anything even shane warne or muralitharan would have blundered while durban assisted a bit spin and that's why jaddu was able to get wickets if ashwin was selected in place of ishant it would have been a different story in durban test.so my dear friend everything these days depends on wicket.even indian odi wicket isn't spin friendly as our batsmen are flat track specialists.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 7:47 GMT

Don't know how much more pressure will Rohit Sharma put on Dhawan in the initial overs to score.. He was 5 off 17 balls and that put immense pressure on Dhawan.. If both the batsmen get tied up under pressure then the team is headed nowhere else but for a loss. Our bowling attack apart from Shammi is PATHETIC to say the least. Yes Bhuvi bowled well yesterday in terms of not conceding too many runs but couldn't take initial wickets either. Only god knows when will Umesh/Aaron/Pandey get a chance to bowl. Ishant sharma is a total waste and so is Jadeja. Nor can he bat nor contain with his bowling..

bhagwan
on January 23, 2014, 7:46 GMT

In indai at home Dhoni should play in CSK player in all matches. and they doing very very well for him, Like sir Jadeja and sir ashwin and sir Raina and Gabbar of indain team mr Dhawan. This is only a obstinate captain team. so that he keeping players like Ashwin, raina, jadeja and Ishant in playing eleven. two spinners not meaning in this condition. Rahane should open and also give a chance to Binny and arun. Rest to Ashwin and sir jadeja and try something new. MSD selecting same team at every venue just because they got success in indian condition. We have to remember that next WC in NZ and Aust., It means that we should give the chance to other player like Rayudu and Binny, Not every time to your most favorite CSK team players. When Ghambir, yuvraj and sahwag out of team so why raina and jadeja in this team because they are in the team of CSK, so they must have in indain team. We are playing with IPL TEAM at every where. MSD should think about it.

Yousuf
on January 23, 2014, 7:46 GMT

@ SLslinga Umpires please stop the game we can not see the bowl, Light is bad, Please let the physio come as I am not faking an injury, Please don't penalize us for deliberately bowling a no ball so the batsman couldn't get a century. Maybe then Sl will win a test series outside SL as clearly they fairly can not.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 7:44 GMT

not sure dhoni never goes with new comers into the team. With no surprise factor to opposition team u r already exposed . Where are the new additions Binny and Varon?

Md
on January 23, 2014, 7:43 GMT

1.2 billion people. Dont have even a single world class bowler. Lively pitches batting is total failure. They call themselves as world champions. Lol. BCCI should invite WI and visit Zim more regularly.

Android
on January 23, 2014, 7:43 GMT

its funny some people are saying bring back sehwag. sehwag is finished. he is not making runs on domestic level how can he perform on international level. lol. his career is over. sehwag will make a good commentator

Myth
on January 23, 2014, 7:40 GMT

Raina, Jadeja, Ashwin and Rohit should be shown the Door, i dont care but these guys dont deserve to be in Team when India playing outside the Subcontinent, Next thing they will do Play Srilanka 10 times a year and become no.1 again.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 7:39 GMT

To Mr.Dhoni...really I dont know why you keeping Ishant Sharma for more matches.. he worst form continue all matches...plz give chance to umesh or aaron... recently Indian Cricket Record in Abroad is not gud...it all wash out. (Australia, England Now continue in NZ).... Changes Must....Plz do it...

Md
on January 23, 2014, 7:39 GMT

India can use 3 and 1/2 hours of the day productively, if they do not ball at all and just start chasing 300 from the beginning. So called ODI double centurions, Fastest debut test centurions cant even make a 50. Lol.

Myth
on January 23, 2014, 7:37 GMT

IPL is paying them so much that i even doubt that these guys are Playing to win for the country or just playing for heck of it.

RAJARAMAN
on January 23, 2014, 7:37 GMT

@THAIKKATHhAMEED ... field restrictions apply to opponents as well ... that is why India was able to chase down ANY score without difficulty ... the same is not working overseas ... simply, batsmen are not able to cover up the weaknesses of bowlers ... time has come to try new sets of bowlers ...

Suraj
on January 23, 2014, 7:36 GMT

I still don't understand the role of Rohit Sharma, Jadeja, Ashwin & Ishant Sharma's in that team.. RS can't play in swinging conditions rather looks to save his position in the national team, Jadeja cannot be considered as a batsman nor a spinner abroad so a complete waste of a player where Binny should be playing & high time either Ishwar Pandey, Aaron or Yadav get a chance in the place of Ishant Sharma because he just keeps leaking runs! Sad bowling line up to say the least. With this bowling attack I don't see India even going past the league stage in World Cup 2015 forget about defending the championship..

stewey
on January 23, 2014, 7:34 GMT

India won't take these losses lying down. They are far more consistent than NZ, and the locals had better not be complacent or there will be a whipping for the 3rd ODI.

Yousuf
on January 23, 2014, 7:33 GMT

@ aussie1993 Do you ever have anything else to say. Your record is also 7-0. LOL. And it will be 10-0 after SA.

Ravindran
on January 23, 2014, 7:32 GMT

The only way forward for India is to select 2 teams ,one to play in the subcontinent(Rohit, Dhawan, Ashwin, jadega) and one to play overseas (NOT ISHANT, ROHIT,DHWAN,ASHWIN,JADEGA ,RAINA,YUVRAJ)

Prakash
on January 23, 2014, 7:31 GMT

Bring back gambhir,sehwag,Aaron/U Yadav & drop raina,Ishant & Aswin

Myth
on January 23, 2014, 7:31 GMT

Its Less Of Indian Team Playing and More of Chennai Super King, India is not going to Win World Cup outside India with this Kind of team, Everyone one Know solution to this problem but i guess too much one-showmanship and Influence is on Show of Selection of Playing 11, m sure its not the team selected by Selectors.

balaji
on January 23, 2014, 7:30 GMT

Excuse me friends, even muralidharan or warne can pick up wickets in these kind of hostile conditions to spinners then how can you expect ashwin and jaddu to take wickets.even sunil narine performed in these hostile conditions in the just concluded windies tour and does it mean sunil narine is useless?? Rohit sharma,shikhar dhawan,ishant sharma need to axed from the squad.New players should be given an opportunity in the future.while rohit,ishant and jaddu needs to replaced by varun aaron,stuart binny and ambati rayudu for the 3rd odi so that selection will be easy task in the future tours.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 7:28 GMT

In the 2nd ODI, of course nature cause affected & the overs reduced. But the Bowling at the death was very worst. The actual score hit by NZ was 271. But due to the poor bowling by Indians the Target being increased as 297. As a result India lost its 1st spot in ODI ratings. In the 3rd ODI, definitely changes has to be made. Dhawan is out performance. So he must be replaced by Rayudu. And definitely Ishant must have to be replaced. Its better to be replaced by Stuart Binny. And also the 2 Spinners Ashwin & Jadeja also did not perform well. Either one of them must be replaced by the Leg break Bowler Amit Mishra. If these 3 changes take place in the 3rd ODI India will have chance to have a fight back. Will this happen? Let us see..

Anver
on January 23, 2014, 7:27 GMT

The ideal heading for this article would have been "Indian selectors need to curb bowlers who do mistakes while under pressure" Ishant & Ashwin are non performers on foreign soils... seriously Ind require few urgent attentions before WC 2015 !!!!

Apoorv
on January 23, 2014, 7:26 GMT

Why is it rocket science for MSD to just drop Ishant from the team? even the local beetle shop owner can spot that Ishant is just not ready to learn or strive hard..please get someone who has the zeal to perform..even Bhuvi is better as he can at least score5-10 runs with bat and is better in fielding..

sateesh
on January 23, 2014, 7:21 GMT

Although not a fan of Ishanth's performance but i do wonder how is our bench is going to fare, i seriously do not have high expectations from them. But again could not be worst than Ishi's right? Although Ind lost the match it was a entertaining one, so kudos to both teams. There was no single reason for ind losing the match, was combination of small things. Corey's blistering innings, NZ fielding (easily saved 10 to 15 runs), very tight bowling from Nathan, all the NZ bowlers stuck to the plan and bowled and field placement was excellent so many good shots were hit straight to the fielders. They knew the ground shape and took advantage. Very slow start from Ind openers, if they did not wasted so many balls (even 12 ) we could have been looking at a different result. Even some of the mis hits in Bhuvi's and Shami's bowling went to boundaries. and of course Ishanth's bowling.

shahnawaz
on January 23, 2014, 7:20 GMT

Player should groom in domestic circuit before going into international arena but problem is that our bowlers try to learn in international matches which never occurs and consequently fall flat on the bigger stage..

arsalan
on January 23, 2014, 7:15 GMT

oh my goodness in the population of billion they cant get a fast bowler

srujan
on January 23, 2014, 7:12 GMT

give chances to yusuf pathan,irfan,gambhir nad uthappa like raina,ishant and rohit,,, they ll also prove that they r destruvctive

AbdulHameed
on January 23, 2014, 6:52 GMT

Dhoni always speaks about the new fielding rules. Just a doubt I am asking. Is this rule applied only to India when they are fielding. Dont the opposite team have the same rules. Somebody, please enlighten me.

vageesan
on January 23, 2014, 6:51 GMT

His attack may probably not have the skills to extract as much out of New Zealand pitches - Mr. Abhishek and Mr. Dhoni.... Request you not to come to a conclusion by seeing these 3 bowlers (shammi, bhuvi and ishant). We have varun aaron, umesh yadav and Ishwar pandey in bench. Its high time dhoni tries using these bowlers before the world cup. Atleast umesh and aaron. Aaron is not in the test side. So i think he deserves a chance in these remaining 3 ODI s. Aaron and umesh are the fastest bowlers india has. And pankaj singh and VRV singh are bowling their heart out at the flat pitches back home in india. I have just given you few examples. Without seeing their performances we cant come to a conclusion about indian bowling. Good players are literally begging for chances. But dhoni continues to prefer the rainas, rohits, jadejas, ishants of indian cricket. Instead pankaj singh, rasool, rishi dhawan, binny, pujara, badri, DK, rayudu, aaron, umesh deserves their chances atleast once

Adam
on January 23, 2014, 6:45 GMT

Remember few months ago when Ashwin was being compared to great spinners like Warne, Daniel V etc by ignorant Indian fans. haha. How can this fella be considered a good bowler when he has such a poor record away from home. He lacks variation and the ability to out think the batsman. Just shows, how easily Indian fans get carried away and start making ignorant comments ay

Naresh
on January 23, 2014, 6:42 GMT

@SLslinga - well dont watch then. Go and watch something else that you
like. For India to reach close to the target - would Uganda have done that?

Rahul
on January 23, 2014, 6:40 GMT

MSD keeps fretting about the new fielding restrictions and 2 new balls. Indias ODI record after the new changes hasnt been great either. What MSD needs to understand is the other team is also playing with same set of rules. Instead of cribbing about the changes he needs to be more creative with his balling unit, field placements and overall strategy. Indian bowlers have been leaking 300+ runs consistently even in SAF and NZ where there is enough help for the bowlers. MSD as a captain hasn't been able to rise to the challenge of this adversity which is harming his team. The rigidity of his to stick to same set of players is a major reason. Ishanth has not been lacking in trying but he doesnt seem to have the required skill sets to address the challenges. Ashwin's novelty also seem to have gone and opposition are looking to attack him all the time. Ashwin is also loosing the ability to take wickets. This is big challenge to Indian skipper and selectors.

Adam
on January 23, 2014, 6:40 GMT

Buzzed to see the Kiwis do well against this so called powerhouse team. huh. When you do bit of a research you easily find out how poorly India fares when they play overseas or in tough conditions. When Kiwis toured SA, they at least won games. India failed to win even a single game when they toured SA. Just shows with our tiny population and cricket not being even no.2 sport over here, we can still punch above our weight. Sorry but not impressed with Indian team. Bring the Saffas.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 6:38 GMT

Couldn't agree more with Sandt. Why is he keeping players like Ashwin and Ishant in 11? 2 spinners is a luxury, India can ill afford along non-performing Ishant. Rohit is very uncomfortable at top, get Rahane to open and give him a fair chance .Try something new, at least show some intent and not just wait for things to happen. Just because same combination got MS success in England in Champions Trophy, same will happen in New Zealand. That is a very rigid thinking .Get Rayudu in place of your most favorite Raina.
Think about winning rather keeping your favorites in side. Get Aaron and Mishra in, and make a strategy to attack New Zealand batsmen. More attacking play is needed, defensive fields and bowling, having a predictable game plan will not yield results with new rules in place.
For God sake give new folks a fair chance, don't drop them after a single chance.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 6:33 GMT

Well Himanshu, there is no excuse for your first choice spinner to go without a wicket for nearly 90 overs in international cricket. This is the dubious stat that is now attached to Ashwin. BTW, all these 90 overs have been bowled outside of India - in RSA and now in NZ. Dhoni should have realized by now the (f)utility of choosing Ashwin outside of India. He is a good IPL bowler and nothing more than that. Dhoni needs to react better when it comes to making selection choices and does not have to wait till it is written in stone that folks like Ashwin, Ishant are just useless. Time is running out if he wants the guys to represent India in atleast 30-40 matches by the time WC comes around!

ANUDEEP
on January 23, 2014, 6:28 GMT

Should play Ishwar Pandey. Please take out Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, S Dhawan, Suresh Raina they have got enough chances courtsey Mr. Dhoni. Bring in pragyan ojha, he's any day a better spinner than Ashwin. SOS for Cheteshwar Pujara. Also give chance to Samson/ Zol/ U Chand/ Jadhav instead of Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina, they have been tourists for far too long. Please ask Jadeja to bat like he does with CSK or pay him extra money for his batting, his brain cells seem to be in sleep mode when he's batting for India be it ODI or Tests.

Pr
on January 23, 2014, 6:25 GMT

It is great to watch this associate level play.it is irony that india is bloking other teams like uganda or png to enter to the top 10 in place of india.i think uganda has more talented bowlers or batsmen than india.i hope they get a chance.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 6:25 GMT

I am from Pakistan i have a one question from Indian Selectors i.e R. Aswin is not performing from last one year. and if you compare his performance (Bowling, batting, fielding and winning sprit) with Bahjji you will find a huge difference between them. Why not bhajji again he is young and play play India for 2/3 years more. I think so he is not isn the good books of Dhoni or he is not playing from Chennai thats why he is not in Indian team. I think so the selection cretaria in Indian cricket team is either your in the good books of Dhoni or you are playing form Chennai. Plz correct me if i am wrong.

Salim
on January 23, 2014, 6:17 GMT

I have always wondered why are the selectors not bothering to check records of players before selecting them. The repeated selection of Ishant, Ashwin, Raina, Rohit, etc are ample proofs. It seems that the selectors just ratify the sheet of names passed on to them by 'someone'. In the 70s, bowlers like Shivalkar, Rajindersingh Goel and Rajindersingh Hans did not get a place in the national team despite taking 100s of wickets in domestic cricket. However, atleast the spin quatert then was performing admirably. Nowadays, without even a mediocre performance against their names, certain players continue to get selected match after match and series after series. Zaheer, Umesh, Vinay, etc have all been dropped after a poor match or a poor series. However, Ishant and Ashwin continue to play inspite of repeated pathetic performances. Jadeja came back into the national side as an all-rounder after a few good batting knocks in domestic cricket. But this batting failures are conveniently ignored.

Himanshu
on January 23, 2014, 6:12 GMT

I don't agree with comments about Ashwin or Jadeja. For the conditions they have bowled really well. Major problem child is Ishant, who has shown no signs of improvement in ODIs. The wickets he get is all due to batsmen's 'unforced' errors. It is not like he is exerting pressure that results in a false shot or he beats them with pace, swing or seam. Bhuvi is showing the will to bowl yorkers, but bowling slightly full or short while bowling yorkers is like suicide. Plus he lacks some pace which makes it easy for batsmen to adjust. Shami has the pace, but is not as disciplined as he should be. Dhoni is right in pointing out the boundaries in first or last ball of the overs. The bowlers need to apply their brains. They need to understand the situation of the game and try and preempt a shot. Great bowlers always talk about setting a batsmen, given the match situation. It is tough to learn but at the highest level you have to learn fast.

SK
on January 23, 2014, 6:10 GMT

The point is our bowling attack is mediocre at the best. Shami may be an exception, but one or two expensive overs from him just adds to other's woes. there was nothing great about india picking up a few wkts in tight overs at the fag end. the damage was already done. you cannot celebrate on 10 tight overs in a 50 over game, when the other 40 overs has gone for nearly 300. everyone might be thinking that bringing in Binny, Yadav, R Dhawan will make a difference, but I can assure that it wont make any difference. Of course we should try them. Just seeing Ishant, Ashwin, Jadeja in the playing XI can put an Indian fan down. In that case new names may give a refreshing look, but I again assure that it is not going to make any difference. On top of that when our batsman fail, chances of winning is absolutely nil. hard to believe that Jadeja has 3 triple hundreds in Ranji - may be that sums up or is an indication of the quality of our bowling resources.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 6:06 GMT

sorry i missed out the name of my previous comment its to Mr Dhoni...

Atish
on January 23, 2014, 6:03 GMT

One more achievment for inshat sharma. He is fourth most scuccesful indian pacer in tests.

Aditya
on January 23, 2014, 5:55 GMT

New Zealand managed 271/7 in a rain reduced match. Only reason, they could not manage 300 was because Corey Anderson (MOM in first match) got out swinging after scoring 44 off 17 balls while trying to heave a third six off Ishant in the 39th over. Bowling department looks pretty bleak these days for India with the perennially unlucky and insipid Ishant Sharma. Last year, India's best bowler was Ravindra Jadeja, who is primarily in the team for his batting. Suffice to say, the bowling combination needs some serious tweaking. Varun Aaron, Stuart Binny, and Ishwar Pandey must replace Ishant, Raina, and Ashwin if we want to compete. Currently, the bowlers are not bowling to get wickets, but just to complete the mandatory 50 overs.

Atish
on January 23, 2014, 5:48 GMT

For Ishant to to bowl well, he needs to bowl from 15 yards.

Sandeep
on January 23, 2014, 5:37 GMT

If you keep non-performers like Ishanth, Ashwin in the bowling unit this will be the result.What is the role of a bowler in the side.Is he just another gap filling player.These two like this in indian side.It is really shame to see India cannot give chance to other players in India. I think the blame should be taken by Dhoni, team management, BCCI especially Mr Srinivasan because after he came all CSK players are permanent in the side. If we had given the chances given to Ishant, Ashwin to Umesh yadav, Amit Mishra etc they should have become world class players. Feel like not watching Indian cricket any more.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 5:36 GMT

Mr. i respect you but please dont be stubborn meaningless....
1 year is more than enough for adapting to new rules,,well analysis is required but in excess. first try to implement something new..continuing with the same formula doesn't make any changes. 1(change the players by picking the right player who is capable for overseas conditions) or 2( change the techniques, attitude and thinking which suits well for pace and bouncy pitches)....by not doing anything please dont keep blabering like great analysis........
For me its like get rid of ishanth and try the players in bench and bring R.dawan he could be an effective all rounder than S.Binny

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 5:27 GMT

There is no point using two spinners in overseas. Playing with fourth seamer ll help to find pace talent in bowling friendly pitches.
Replacing Ashwin with Binny ll be interesting or else you have chase 300+ in rest of the ODIs.

No featured comments at the moment.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 5:27 GMT

There is no point using two spinners in overseas. Playing with fourth seamer ll help to find pace talent in bowling friendly pitches.
Replacing Ashwin with Binny ll be interesting or else you have chase 300+ in rest of the ODIs.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 5:36 GMT

Mr. i respect you but please dont be stubborn meaningless....
1 year is more than enough for adapting to new rules,,well analysis is required but in excess. first try to implement something new..continuing with the same formula doesn't make any changes. 1(change the players by picking the right player who is capable for overseas conditions) or 2( change the techniques, attitude and thinking which suits well for pace and bouncy pitches)....by not doing anything please dont keep blabering like great analysis........
For me its like get rid of ishanth and try the players in bench and bring R.dawan he could be an effective all rounder than S.Binny

Sandeep
on January 23, 2014, 5:37 GMT

If you keep non-performers like Ishanth, Ashwin in the bowling unit this will be the result.What is the role of a bowler in the side.Is he just another gap filling player.These two like this in indian side.It is really shame to see India cannot give chance to other players in India. I think the blame should be taken by Dhoni, team management, BCCI especially Mr Srinivasan because after he came all CSK players are permanent in the side. If we had given the chances given to Ishant, Ashwin to Umesh yadav, Amit Mishra etc they should have become world class players. Feel like not watching Indian cricket any more.

Atish
on January 23, 2014, 5:48 GMT

For Ishant to to bowl well, he needs to bowl from 15 yards.

Aditya
on January 23, 2014, 5:55 GMT

New Zealand managed 271/7 in a rain reduced match. Only reason, they could not manage 300 was because Corey Anderson (MOM in first match) got out swinging after scoring 44 off 17 balls while trying to heave a third six off Ishant in the 39th over. Bowling department looks pretty bleak these days for India with the perennially unlucky and insipid Ishant Sharma. Last year, India's best bowler was Ravindra Jadeja, who is primarily in the team for his batting. Suffice to say, the bowling combination needs some serious tweaking. Varun Aaron, Stuart Binny, and Ishwar Pandey must replace Ishant, Raina, and Ashwin if we want to compete. Currently, the bowlers are not bowling to get wickets, but just to complete the mandatory 50 overs.

Atish
on January 23, 2014, 6:03 GMT

One more achievment for inshat sharma. He is fourth most scuccesful indian pacer in tests.

Dummy4
on January 23, 2014, 6:06 GMT

sorry i missed out the name of my previous comment its to Mr Dhoni...

SK
on January 23, 2014, 6:10 GMT

The point is our bowling attack is mediocre at the best. Shami may be an exception, but one or two expensive overs from him just adds to other's woes. there was nothing great about india picking up a few wkts in tight overs at the fag end. the damage was already done. you cannot celebrate on 10 tight overs in a 50 over game, when the other 40 overs has gone for nearly 300. everyone might be thinking that bringing in Binny, Yadav, R Dhawan will make a difference, but I can assure that it wont make any difference. Of course we should try them. Just seeing Ishant, Ashwin, Jadeja in the playing XI can put an Indian fan down. In that case new names may give a refreshing look, but I again assure that it is not going to make any difference. On top of that when our batsman fail, chances of winning is absolutely nil. hard to believe that Jadeja has 3 triple hundreds in Ranji - may be that sums up or is an indication of the quality of our bowling resources.

Himanshu
on January 23, 2014, 6:12 GMT

I don't agree with comments about Ashwin or Jadeja. For the conditions they have bowled really well. Major problem child is Ishant, who has shown no signs of improvement in ODIs. The wickets he get is all due to batsmen's 'unforced' errors. It is not like he is exerting pressure that results in a false shot or he beats them with pace, swing or seam. Bhuvi is showing the will to bowl yorkers, but bowling slightly full or short while bowling yorkers is like suicide. Plus he lacks some pace which makes it easy for batsmen to adjust. Shami has the pace, but is not as disciplined as he should be. Dhoni is right in pointing out the boundaries in first or last ball of the overs. The bowlers need to apply their brains. They need to understand the situation of the game and try and preempt a shot. Great bowlers always talk about setting a batsmen, given the match situation. It is tough to learn but at the highest level you have to learn fast.

Salim
on January 23, 2014, 6:17 GMT

I have always wondered why are the selectors not bothering to check records of players before selecting them. The repeated selection of Ishant, Ashwin, Raina, Rohit, etc are ample proofs. It seems that the selectors just ratify the sheet of names passed on to them by 'someone'. In the 70s, bowlers like Shivalkar, Rajindersingh Goel and Rajindersingh Hans did not get a place in the national team despite taking 100s of wickets in domestic cricket. However, atleast the spin quatert then was performing admirably. Nowadays, without even a mediocre performance against their names, certain players continue to get selected match after match and series after series. Zaheer, Umesh, Vinay, etc have all been dropped after a poor match or a poor series. However, Ishant and Ashwin continue to play inspite of repeated pathetic performances. Jadeja came back into the national side as an all-rounder after a few good batting knocks in domestic cricket. But this batting failures are conveniently ignored.

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